Everybody knows the feeling: your entire reality is slightly askew, things seem out of control, and everything you do seems to only make it worse.

It’s madness. It’s insanity.

As Roger Waters would say, you’re “on the run.”

This madness doesn’t have to be yours. It can be something you see in the world, or in other people, or in ideas, art, theatre or tea leaves.

And this madness has been an almost bottomless catalyst for musical innovation. Many say that Mozart’s best symphonic work was due to a STD-related insanity. Van Gogh’s personal struggles resulted in a “passionate donation” of his own ear to the cause of his art. Brian Wilson spent a lot of time in an in-home sandbox during his long, bipolar trip. And all chronicled their maladies in their art.

So we present this collection of tunes about — or inspired by — madness. Enjoy!

• Onkel Rudi’s “A Piece For And About Assorted Lunatics”
• U.N.K.L.E. Matt’s “A 25-Minute Lapse Of Reason”
• The Man(del) From U.N.C.L.E.’s set coming soon!
• Uncle Sam’s set coming soon!

Come in here dear boy, have a cigar, sit down, help yourself to some Kool-Aid and relax…

1. Napoleon XIV, “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!
Well this is a bit of Service nostalgia - I included Biz Markie’s cover of this song on my very first playlist for this website. Here in all it’s Deeeeeeeemented glory is the original novelty “hit”. Keep an ear out for the reveal(?) as to the cause of all this separation psychosis. Bitter recrimination as metaphor, or Berkowitz memoir? Your call…

2. MC Honky, “Soft Velvety ‘Fer (Li’l Fer)”
This is from Mark Oliver Everett’s eels side project MC Honky, in which he explores more hip-hop and trippy instrumental ideas. I’ve always wondered whether the phone message in this was from someone E actually knew, or if it was (hopefully) a wrong number. Maybe she was calling to see if her purple sneakers were ready.

3. Blind Melon, “Skinned”
A stompalong barn-burner about Ed Gein? Well why the hell not? I mean why so serious?

4. Jack Kittel, “Psycho”
Another song I first encountered through the Doctor Demento show, I suffered for years having only a copy taped off the radio until the film “Larger Than Life” (the one with the elephant - no, NOT “Operation Dumbo Drop”) used it to underscore the wonderfully paranoid performance of Matthew McConaughey. I procured a copy of the soundtrack and am now passing on this hauntingly hypnotic yet amusing track to all of you. Enjoy. Enjoy! …It enjoys the song or else it gets the hose again.

5. Imani Coppola, “It’s All About Me, Me, And Me”
Multiple personality disorder has never been so funky! By the way, if you’ve never picked up the work of Miss Coppola, please do. I do what I can to spread the word, but I am just one man. Though we are Legion…

6. Don McLean, “Vincent”
One of the more famous songs about insanity, about one of the more famous insane people in history. Or as most people know it, “oh yeah, what’s that other song by that American Pie guy…” But if you’re not familiar with this beautiful song, please pick some starry night and lend an ear, it’ll really make an impression.

(that’s it, after that last one, Sam’s going to ban me from ever posting again)

7. The Avalanches, “Frontier Psychiatrist”
I’ve mentioned these guys before - crazy Australians armed with samplers and obscure vinyl, cranking out compositions comprised solely of harmoniously arranged loops of other people’s stuff. This one combines spaghetti-western music with TV and radio drama vocal snippets, inventing nonsense rhyming couplets and entertaining song structure.

Hope you had fun going c r a z y with me! And remember, we’re never going to survive unless we get a little….

Download: “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” - Napoleon XIV (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Soft Velvety ‘Fer (Li’l Fer)” - MC Honky (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Skinned” - Blind Melon (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Psycho” - Jack Kittel (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “It’s All About Me, Me And Me” - Imani Coppola (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Vincent” - Don McLean (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Frontier Psychiatrist” - The Avalanches (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Songs about madness seemed to be a big deal in the late-1960s, and most of my playlist originates from that era. The rise of psychedelic drugs - and the resulting psychoanalytic push - acted as a muse for many songwriters to document the ordeals of mental instability.

Since I wrote the intro to this month’s selection, I’ll let the songs do the rest of the talking - have fun!

1. “Helter Skelter” - The Beatles (from The Beatles [a.k.a. The White Album])
   This song ostensibly is Paul McCartney’s answer to The Who’s claim as “loudest rock back of 1968.” Fair enough. But it’s also a song that supposedly spoke to Charles Manson, who kept muttering “helter skelter” and citing The White Album as inspiration for his murder spree. All this from a song about a playground….
2. “The Real Me” - The Who (from Quadrophenia)
   Sure, most people cite Tommy as The Who’s rock opera, but as a coherent work, Quadrophenia works much better. The story centers around a protagonist who has a four-sided personality - “quadrophenia” - and the song cycle has four distinct musical themes. This song sets up the original question that the main character puts to his psychologist: “can you see the real me?” Without this album, I doubt that Pink Floyd’s The Wall would’ve been quite as operatic (e.g. musical themes that recur throughout the album).
3. “Knocking ‘Round The Zoo” - James Taylor (from James Taylor)
   Welcome to the early James Taylor. Before he was the laid-back, lanky, cool cat of the adult contemporary set, he was a young, hip, singer-songwriter with a nasty double-whammy case of bipolar disorder and heroin addiction. More than once, he found himself checked into mental hospitals, and this song documents one of those visits. For all the upbeat music that this song has, its lyrics are quite dire. It’s amazing that this young musical talent was one of the first signees to The Beatles’ Apple Records label (though JT’s commercial success was only realized once he moved to Warner Brothers for his second album). The “Kootch” he mentions during one of the refrains is Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, one of JT’s long-time musical partners.
4. “Help, I’m A Rock” - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention (from Freak Out!)
   Leave it to good ‘ol Zappa, the antithesis of the late-60s drug culture (he never partook of anything hard back in the day), to come up with this crazy song. It’s a reaction to all of the whacked-out psychedelia that took over the rock world in 1966, and seems to sum up the mania that could be induced from listening to the chemical strangeness with a sober mind.
5. “Lithium” - Nirvana (from From The Muddy Banks Of The Wabash)
   Kurt Cobain was a depressed and confused man. Lithium was but one drug prescribed to help him find some happiness in life. Obviously, it failed to exorcise his demons.
6. “Tom Cruise Crazy” - Jonathan Coulton (from Thing A Week 3)
   Want some modern-day crazy? Tom Cruise has it in spades - and Jonathan Coulton is quite happy to sing about it.
7. “Dark Globe” - Syd Barrett (from The Madcap Laughs)
   Rather than look at the post-Barrett Floyd, I decided to go to the source. This song, from Barrett’s first solo album, is a plea for help from a man whose world is crumbling around him. This is a poetic illustration of schizophrenia, penned and performed by a person deep in the throes of his own psychotic breakdown. A haunting close to this disturbing setlist.

Download: “Helter Skelter” - The Beatles (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “The Real Me” - The Who (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Knocking ‘Round The Zoo” - James Taylor (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Help, I’m A Rock” - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Lithium” - Nirvana (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Tom Cruise Crazy” - Jonathan Coulton (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Dark Globe” - Syd Barrett (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Elton John is by far one of my all-time favorite artists. Sure, many know him as the guy who wrote the music for “The Lion King” or being the artist who struck gold twice with “Candle in the Wind” (once about Marilyn Monroe and even more successfully about Princess Di), but a lot of people tend to forget what a powerhouse he has been live. Here are some of my favorite Elton live recordings, many of them rare performances quite hard to find nowadays…

1. Elton John, “Take Me to the Pilot” (Live from the 11-17-70 album)
   1970 was the year that Elton descended upon the United States…and when he arrived, he arrived big. Many of his first concerts consisted of a simple piano, bass, and drums lineup. (Sound a bit familiar, Ben Folds Five fans?) The late Dee Murray was on the bass while Nigel Olsson hit the skins. This track is a live version of the classic song from the “Elton John” album and it proves that even without the Paul Buckmaster-arranged orchestral backing, this tune packs a wallop.
2. Elton John, “Holiday Inn” (Live from Songs for Saturday)
   This 1971 recording is from a music program that aired on the BBC. Again, the lineup was just Elton, Dee, and Nigel and this time the trio previewed some tracks from then-forthcoming “Madman Across the Water” album. This particular performance is notable in that it includes an extra verse that was dropped from the final version of the song.
3. Elton John, “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” (From the Walls and Bridges remaster)
   This legendary performance is from Elton’s Thanksgiving concert at Madison Square Garden in 1974. By this time the lineup had grown to include Davey Johsntone on guitar and Ray Cooper on percussion…in my opinion, the best lineup for Elton’s band. However, this evening was even more notable in the special guest that joined them…John Lennon. Lennon hadn’t performed live in years. Now, the story goes that Elton bet Lennon that “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” would hit #1 on the chart. Lennon said it wouldn’t, but that if it did, he’d perform live with Elton. Sure enough, the song gave Lennon his next-to-last #1 hit. Sure, the performance wasn’t the most polished, but you can definitely feel the magic here. Sadly, this proved to be Lennon’s last live performance.
4. Elton John, “Part-time Love” (Live in Moscow - 1979)
   The year is 1979 and Elton hadn’t hit the top of the charts are frequently as he did in the past. His previous album “A Single Man” charted lower than any of his previous studio album leading this very minor Top 40 single in the US. This recording is from a historic tour he did in the Soviet Union. It was just him on the piano and Ray Cooper on percussion. With the two of them on the stage, it led to some unique arrangements of Elton’s songs. “Part-Time Love” is one of my favorite forgotten gems of Elton and this performance in spite of the sparse arrangement still does it justice.
5. Elton John, “Cold as Christmas” (Live in Australia - 1986)
   Elton’s 1986 Australian tour with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra proved to be one of his most ambitious and also one of his toughest. Throughout the tour he was set back by vocal troubles - ultimately, nodules were discovered on his vocal chords leading to surgery that left his vocal range permanently lowered. This rare live performance of the “Too Low for Zero” ballad was left off of the CD release of the concert, but thanks to a little research I was able to track down a recording. This recording incorporates an orchestral arrangement that wasn’t used in the 1983 studio version but finally came to life courtesy of this tour.
6. Elton John, “Elton’s Song” (Live at Madison Square Garden - 1999)
   This later recording by Elton is just him on the piano. The song is from the much-forgotten “The Fox” album from 1981. While uneven, the album sported a few great tunes including this one about a young boy’s hardship dealing with crush on a male classmate. Elton’s later-era voice gives the song an extra bit of gravitas that wasn’t present on the original recording.
7. Elton John, “Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!)” (Live at Central Park - 1980)
   1980 was a bit of a comeback for Elton with his summer Top 3 hit, “Little Jeannie.” This recording here capped of the infamous Central Park concert that continued the winning streak for Elton in ‘80. It’s a bit of a fluffy song but one of my faves from the “Blue Moves” album. Not quite the huge hit that it should have been when it was originally release in 1977, but it’s a great closer. And by the way, to get the full effect of this…picture this being sung by Elton dressed in a Donald Duck costume… yes… seriously… there are clips on Youtube of it…

Download: Elton John, “Take Me to the Pilot” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Holiday Inn” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Part-time Love” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Cold as Christmas” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Elton’s Song” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Normally I’m a real stickler for list time constraints here @ Selective Service, but for this live-Stones-centric list, I just couldn’t help myself. I think the Stones have been (at times) the most potent live act on the planet, and their evolution from corner-blues-club band to stadium juggernaut is fascinating. Here now, in chronological order, are some of my favorite live Rolling Stones moments:

1. Interview with Mick Jagger (1965)
   A little time-capsule nugget with Jagger commenting on the time it took to record “Satisfaction.”
2. The Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
   An excellent live performance captured for the BBC’s “Top Of The Pops” on 9/23/65, just about a month after it was released and soared to #1 on the British charts.
3. The Rolling Stones, “Let’s Spend The Night Together”
   Yessir, this is the infamous sanitized-for-your-protection “Let’s Spend Some Time Together” performance from the Ed Sullivan Show, recorded 1/13/67.
4. The Rolling Stones, “Gimme Shelter”
   Taken from the historic LIVE’r Than You’ll Ever Be boot, this captures the Stones at the beginning of their live prime (11/9/69). This recording comes from the same tour that produced the classic live album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, but presents the band sans overdubs. LIVE’r’s source is a pristine audience tape, and it still sounds deliciously raw. “Gimme Shelter” was a highlight of their ‘69 set, and this is one powerful performance.
5. The Rolling Stones, “Happy”
   No Stones live experience would be complete without a solo Keith moment. By 1972, Keith had begun to get his moment on stage, and this performance of Exile on Main St.’s “Happy” is notable to me because Mick’s still on stage with Keith, contributing backing vocals, something he hasn’t done since, well, I’m not 100% sure, but 1972 is probably a good guess.
6. The Rolling Stones, “Sweet Virginia”
   Like “Happy” above, this was lifted from the Unreleased Decca Live Album 1972 boot, recorded 7/19/72 in Philadelphia. According to legend, this live album was in the can & ready to be released, but conflict with Allen Klein over the rights to some of the songs kept it off shelves. The sound quality is markedly improved over the ‘69 boots (shows the difference between soundboard and audience recordings), and the performance is excellent, this song especially showing off the great Bobby Keys on sax.
7. The Rolling Stones, “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)”
   For my money, the Stones were at their best in ‘72-’73, and the next two tracks are proof. By this time, Mick Taylor had found an amazing groove on stage, extending the Stones’ songs with flair but keeping them clear of meandering, jam-band territory. His blistering solo here at the end of “Heartbreaker” is great stuff. (Recorded 9/9/73 at Wembley Stadium in London)
8. The Rolling Stones, “Midnight Rambler”
   “Midnight Rambler,” from 1969’s Let It Bleed is the one song that the Stones have consistently extended in concert. Each performance feels like a blues-rock marathon, showing off each of the band members’ strengths. This one, recorded 10/17/73 in Brussels, again shows off Mick Taylor’s chops, but my favorite moment is Mick Jagger’s call-and-response howls with the audience in the middle of the bluesy breakdown. What a showman.

   Wrinkle in time — not much to pay attention to given the Stones’ dwindling live prowess over the late 70’s and early-to-mid 80’s.

9. The Rolling Stones, “Continental Drift (Intro)”
10. The Rolling Stones, “Start Me Up”
    This one-two punch opened shows and re-introduced the Stones to the world in 1989/90 on their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tours. The band had cleaned up, tightened up, and made up before hitting the road, and that first pair of über stadium tours would set the big-venue standard for everyone else. These two recordings, and the next two, are from 7/7/90 at Wembley Stadium.
11. The Rolling Stones, “2000 Light Years From Home”
    In addition to playing old favorites and flogging new material during the ‘89-90 world tours, the Stones consistently resurrected some really unexpected nuggets, none more oddly interesting than this, “2000 Light Years From Home,” from 1967’s generally forgotten psychedelic curio Their Satanic Majesties Request. The other-worldly arrangement of the introduction and trippy breakdown remains intact, tho it’s been updated with more modern synths.
12. The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy For The Devil”
    Sure, the modern live version of “Sympathy” may lack the blood and teeth of the ‘69 performances, but something about the way the older Jagger performs it makes it feel more authentic: strutting on the stage, bathed in ominous red light, his face elegantly showing the wear and tear of age, it really seems like he could be the Devil.
13. The Rolling Stones, “Angie”
    During their 1994/95 Voodoo Lounge tour, the Stones got behind the en vogue unplugged concept, eventually releasing a whole album in that format, Stripped. They ended up working a small acoustic set into their massive stadium shows, where a tiny stage would wheel the mostly-acoustic band out into the crowd for a few songs. The new setup allowed for more interesting and intimate choices, including “Angie,” nicked from a performance in Rio de Janiero, 2/4/95.
14. The Rolling Stones, “The Worst”
    Couldn’t help myself: more solo Keith. This time performing “The Worst,” one of his best solo tunes, also taken from the 2/4/95 Rio show. Compare the composed Keith from this recording to the haggard one performing “Happy” in 1972 above for bonus fun. Yikes. Thank goodness for rehab, right? Even if it doesn’t stick.
15. The Rolling Stones, “Miss You”
    One more bit of Mick-working-the-audience fun, recorded in St. Louis 12/12/97 on their Bridges to Babylon tour. “Miss You” was always a crowd pleaser, but on recent tours, the Stones have turned it into a real showstopping jam.
16. Interview with Mick Jagger & Brian Jones (1965)
    Isn’t hindsight fun? Mick and Brian Jones chat about their band’s future.

Enjoy!

Download: Interview with Mick Jagger (1965) (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Let’s Spend The Night Together” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Gimme Shelter” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Happy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Sweet Virginia” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” (AAC)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Midnight Rambler” (AAC)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Continental Drift (Intro)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Start Me Up” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “2000 Light Years From Home” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy For The Devil” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Angie” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “The Worst” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Miss You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Interview with Mick Jagger & Brian Jones (1965) (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Last Friday I took in Ben Folds’ show at Boston’s Orpheum. It was the first time I’d seen an entire* show of his since he & the Five, touring behind Whatever and Ever Amen, absolutely killed at the Paradise waaay back in the day. His live act, sadly, did not age well. His new material, however, sounded great. I left the show excited to finally get my copy of his new album Way To Normal (due tomorrow, 9/30) and sadly determined to never bother to see him play live again.

The Normal stuff was generally excellent: poppy without the prog pretension that marred the Five album Reinhold Messner, and peppy without the heavy-handed, sappy pathos that made his last release Songs for Silverman such a dud. His decision to play the new material and nothing but the new material to an audience completely unfamiliar (and, subsequently, uninterested) with it was not so good. People stayed seated throughout the entire pre-encore show, and the constant stream of people walking about to go buy more beer was thoroughly distracting. I partially blame the audience for those shenanigans, but I extend equal blame to Ben and his impressively boring band. They’re the anti-Five, completely lacking skill, energy, and personality. Folds himself was much quieter than I remember, too. What a snore.

He kicked the encore off with Rockin’ The Suburbs’ “Zak and Sarah” and “Philosophy” from their debut, but the energy and fun quickly disappeared with the “Tiny Dancer” wannabe “Landed” from Silverman and the artificially “fun” “Army” from Messner. The final song played was the a take on the “Frowne Song” that Folds seems determined to turn into a big, rousing show-closing anthem, but it just didn’t work. Just like you can’t give yourself a nickname (I tried in college — ’twas lame & didn’t stick), you can’t goad a crowd into embracing a song as a showstopping anthem.

Despite the bad, bad, bad show-going experience I’m psyched for the album. The songs sounded great and should sound even better on disc than with his disappointing live band. Give Way To Normal a shot when it hits stores this week — I’ll give you download links in this week’s (long overdue) Draft Board post.

* So the last time I had tickets to see Ben Folds, the show became a casualty of Sam and his “New York City Transplant understanding of concert timing” in Boston. I had just moved to Boston, and Folds was making a local stop in support of his solo debut, Rockin’ The Suburbs. I secured tickets for me, Alexis, and her good friend Janice to see him play at the Avalon, a club near Fenway in Boston. The tickets said 8:00 on them, and given my long experience of concert going in NYC, this is how my brain translated the start time: doors open at 8, opening act goes on at 9:00, finishes 9:30-ish, Ben goes on around 10 & plays until around 11:30-midnight. That’s how they roll at places like the Bowery Ballroom, so that’s what I thought it would be like here, too. Turns out I was waaaaayyyy off. The Avalon turns into a lame disco at 10PM every night, so when we got to the club at 9:45, Ben was 2 songs from finishing his encore. My bad. And that, kids, is why I get to concerts really early.

Hi everyone! Sorry this is deathly late, but I found this month’s playlist to be problematic. I actually don’t own a lot of live recordings, and most of what I do own is either on vinyl or cassette. So every time I sat down to work this out, I’d get frustrated end up too busy with something else. To paraphrase Bart Simpson, “I’ll be honest with you guys - I wasn’t good at it right away so I just kinda lost interest”. Anyway, I finally cobbled together some fun live tracks that are hopefully off the beaten path enough where you don’t already own them. Hope you enjoy! (And rest assured, my October playlist is all ready to go - I found I can relate much better to that particular subject…)

1. Roger Waters (featuring Cyndi Lauper), “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives / Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2″
This is from the “The Wall 1990: Live In Berlin” album, where Waters gathers music legends past and present (and, um, The Scorpions) to help him perform his opus live at the Potsdamer Platz. I already used my favorite track from this (”Mother” featuring Sinead O’Connor & The Band) on another playlist, so here goes with this one. Keep your ear out for Thomas Dolby popping in right at the end with one of the best keytar solos ever. …Okay, the only good keytar solo ever…

2. Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken In The Shop, “I Knew The Bride”
This is off the legendary “5tiffs Live” vinyl, graciously provided by Bob Shortell.

3. Sheryl Crow & The Dixie Chicks, “Strong Enough”
Not sure of the origins on this one, I found it somewhere online a while ago. I’ve always liked the song and especially this performance.

4. Jane’s Addiction, “Sympathy”
Perry Farrell at his whirling-dervish best, covering what is itself a tasmanian devil of a song.

5. The Fab Faux, “I Am The Walrus (live on Howard Stern)”
These guys are pretty amazing. Their idea is to perform live those songs which The Beatles never attempted because it would have taken fifty guys onstage, an orchestra, tape loops, etc. Well, The Fab Faux pull it off, reproducing those studio creations live with uncanny precision.

Download: Roger Waters (featuring Cyndi Lauper), “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives / Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2″ (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken In The Shop, “I Knew The Bride” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sheryl Crow & The Dixie Chicks, “Strong Enough” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Jane’s Addiction, “Sympathy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Fab Faux, “I Am The Walrus (live on Howard Stern)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

The Beatles are one of my all-time faves, and it’s well-known that they cut their teeth on the club circuit. In the UK and in Germany, the Fab Four were known as a potent (and often volatile) live act before they were signed to Parlophone Records. However, this energy carried on and evolved over the years, as the Fabs got older and their creative visions changed.

So roll up, roll up for the Fab-ulous Live Evolution of Mssrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey.

1. “Can’t Buy Me Love” - The Beatles (live at the Hollywood Bowl, 30 August 1965)
   Beatlemania in the U.S. started with concerts in New York and Washington, DC, but it came to a head with concerts at Shea Stadium and Hollywood Bowl. And this performance from 1965 captures some of that energy: the loud crowds, the Beatles in hyper mode, and the powerful punch of their early hits. The crowd noise on the recording would prove exceedingly difficult for George Martin to work with in assembling a live Beatles album - so much so that it took until 1977 for this recording to officially surface. And given that the raw, three-track recordings have surfaced on unofficial channels, it’s easy to see why no live recording of the Beatles was issued during their prime years. It’s a pity, because they knew how to rock, as well as how to work a crowd. While the songs popped on the studio recordings, they exploded on the stage.
2. “Get Back” - The Beatles (live on the roof of Apple Studios, 30 January 1969)
   This is the opening salvo of the infamous “Rooftop Show,” where The Beatles, along with Billy Preston on keyboards, decided to crawl out of the studio and “audition” some of their new material in front of a live audience - one that stood 40 feet below on the street, or in neighboring office buildings or cars on the roads. While this isn’t their strongest live performance (those days having been left behind over three years prior, if not longer), it shows that, as a band, they still had their potency, even if internal strife was tearing the band apart at the time.
3. “Imagine” - John Lennon (live at the Apollo Theater, New York City, 17 December 1971)
   John Lennon’s live performances were few and far between. His “Live Peace In Toronto” shows in 1969 occurred during the recording sessions for Abbey Road and Let It Be, and were thrown-together affairs. After the breakup of the Fabs, Lennon only performed in charity concerts. The concert where this acoustic guitar version of “Imagine” was performed was to raise awareness of the plight of John Sinclair, an anti-war activist who was serving a 10-year jail term for possession of marijuana. I love this version of “Imagine” because you can hear the audience’s response to the then-current hit song, as well as Lennon’s emotion behind the lyrics.
4. “Maybe I’m Amazed” - Paul McCartney & Wings (live as The Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland, 17 December 1979)
   This song first appeared on McCartney’s first solo album, the aptly-named McCartney. The studio version featured Paul on all of the instruments, and came across as a sincere, if workmanlike performance. When he played it on the Wings tours, however, the song became a majestic ballad, full of pomp, energy and life. This is from the same concert as “Coming Up,” which Mandel highlighted in his “One Night Only… Times Seven” posting earlier this month, and features the final lineup of Wings in one of its final live shows (they would play one more time on December 31st, as part of the “Rock For Kampuchea” shows in London).
5. “Photograph” - Ringo Starr & The All-Starr Band (live at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 3 September 1989)
   It’s hard to pick a Ringo Starr track that’s better live than it was in the studio. Not to slight Ringo, but he’s more of a showman in the “compère” sense: he knows how to work the crowd and give credit to the others in the band, but isn’t known for knockout live performances of his own work. But on his 1989 tour, he had something to prove. He was fresh out of rehab, having finally kicked a decades-long alcohol addiction, and had a band with a lot of talent (Billy Preston, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, and Joe Walsh, to name a few). So this performance of “Photograph,” which was co-written with George Harrison, is a step above Ringo’s usual live offerings.
6. “All Those Years Ago” - George Harrison with Eric Clapton & Band (live in Japan, December 1991)
   As is the case with Ringo, it’s tough to find a great live cut from George Harrison. Like Lennon, his live shows are few and far between: other than a tour in 1974 (”Hari’s On Tour”) that blew out his voice by the fourth show, he mostly played one-off and charity gigs. One of these - the Concert for Bangla Desh - stands as a landmark of charity concerts: the first of its kind, and one of the most successful. But he mostly stuck to his gardening, until a lost bet with Eric Clapton had him on a short tour of Japan. And George did his best to keep his fans satisfied, as this live version of “All Those Years Ago” shows: while not the most peppy performance, George, Eric and band put a lot of work into the song, and it benefits from this effort.
7. “Get Back” - The Beatles (live on the roof of Apple Studios, 30 January 1969)
   To close things up, I include this, the third run-through of “Get Back” from the Apple Studios rooftop concert. This take is interrupted by the London Police, who are responding to a noise complaint by the studio’s neighbours (many think that this police action was actually brought on by The Beatles’ PR people as a way to “add a little edge” to what was turning into a very sad recording and filming process). So you hear the band get startled by the constables, your hear instruments drop out as the officers unplug the amps, and you hear Paul improvise new lyrics during the run-out (”You’ve been singing on the roofs again/And that’s no good/’Cos you know your mommy doesn’t like that/She gets angry/She gonna have you arrested!/Get back…”). And when all was said and done, John Lennon lets loose one of the classic lines of the Fab canon.

And I also offer this BONUS track:

• “Live And Let Die” - Paul McCartney & Wings (live in Seattle, WA, June 1976)
  I couldn’t leave this song out of a live Fabs retrospective, as it’s often one of the highlights of a live McCartney show. He tends to pull out all the stops on this: energetic performance from Paul and the band, lots of lights and lasers, and firworks that heat up whatever venue he plays. When I saw him perform this song at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas back in 1993, it was one of those “woah - wow!” moments. I decided on this performance from Wings Over America because it includes a live brass section, something that Macca should use again (not to dis on Wix, but synthesizers can’t beat real brass).

Download: “Can’t Buy Me Love” - The Beatles (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Get Back” - The Beatles (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Imagine” - John Lennon (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Maybe I’m Amazed” - Paul McCartney & Wings (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Photograph” - Ringo Starr & The All-Starr Band (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “All Those Years Ago” - George Harrison with Eric Clapton & Band (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Get Back” - The Beatles (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Live And Let Die” - Paul McCartney (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Yesterday brought the sad news of the passing of Rick Wright, founding member and keyboardist for Pink Floyd.

Wright was the consummate “quiet Floyd” member. He was seldom in the spotlight (seldom were any of his cohorts there, either), content to provide the atmosphere and “soul” to the Floyd’s sonic tapestry. His weapons of choice - Farfisa and Hammond organs, Moog, Fairlight, Yamaha and Kurzweil synthesizers, and grand piano - were not the flashy ones in the group. David Gilmour’s guitar, Roger Waters’ bass and Nick Mason’s drums were always more overtly brash in their presence. But Rick used his intuitive sense of music and tone (he was ear trained in classical music but preferred to play jazz, and was self-taught on keyboards) to provide the perfect atmosphere for the often weighty (and, as Waters took over the libretto, dark and depressing) lyrics that are a hallmark of the Pink Floyd sound.

Wright was often under-appreciated by both music fans and his fellow Floyd members. As Gilmour said on his website noting Wright’s passing, “In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten.” Not being an alpha dog, he was often content to simply fill his role in the band - a move that cost him his place in the group during the recording of The Wall. He did embark on solo projects - two solo albums, in 1978 and 1996, and a group called Zee in 1984 - but was mostly content to just play his keyboards, sing a vocal here and there, and otherwise enjoy a quiet life.

That’s not to say he didn’t love his time in Pink Floyd. After rejoining the group in 1987 (becoming afull partner in the band by 1992), he seemed reborn in his role as “the keyboard guy who sits on stage right.” And at the 2005 reunion of the four primary Floyd members at Live 8, Rick seemed giddy to be playing with that group of men at that particular time.

In 2006, Rick recorded with David Gilmour on the latter’s latest solo project, On An Island, and toured behind the album. Gilmour let Rick flourish on the tour, giving him lead vocal duty on some old Floyd nuggets. Most available footage from that tour shows a beaming Wright.

So I offer up this small tribute to the incomparable Rick Wright.

First, some video:

“Echoes (Part 1)” from Live at Pompeii (1971)

Now for some audio:

1. “Paint Box” - Pink Floyd (single, 1968)
   One of the first post-Syd singles from Pink Floyd, and somewhat atypical of a Wright composition, but trying for a late-60s pop sound. Playful and simple, this song shows that not all Wright songs are dirges.
2. “Us And Them” - Pink Floyd (live on the BBC, 16 November 1974)
   A live performance of one of Wright’s musical gems from Dark Side Of The Moon, married to lyrics by Roger Waters.
3. “The Great Gig In The Sky” - Pink Floyd (from Dark Side Of The Moon, 1973)
   The classic instrumental from Wright, with vocals by Clare Torrey, a song that’s ostensibly about death, yet is amazingly life-affirming (and life-creating, as it’s standard make-out/sex fare for many teenage boys)
4. “Summer Elegy” - Rick Wright (from Wet Dream, 1978)
   From Wright’s 1978 solo project (also recorded at the time were solo albums from Gilmour and Mason, as well as demos of The Wall and The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking by Waters), an ode to the passing of summer. Much of this album carried a summer relaxation/maritime theme, as Wright lived in Rhodes at the time.
5. “Astronomy Domine” - Pink Floyd (live in Miami, 30 March 1994, from the “Take It Back” CD5)
   As the opening salvo of its 1994 tour, Pink Floyd dusted off this old nugget by Syd Barrett. In doing so, they performed as a 5-piece band: Gilmour and Tim Renwick on guitars, Mason on drums, Guy Pratt on bass, and Wright on keyboards, with Gilmour and Wright singing vocals. The swarming keyboard parts are one of Wright’s best performances with Pink Floyd, to my ears.
6. “Night Of A Thousand Furry Toys” - Rick Wright (from Broken China, 1996)
   Wright’s second solo album (third if you count the Zee album from 1984) was an ambitious affair, with a lot of keyboard sequencing, modern beats, and dark lyrics. Mostly overlooked by critics, it’s a solid affair.
7. “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part IX)” - Pink Floyd (from Wish You Were Here, 1975)
   This is the closing part of the epic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”: a funeral march, written entirely by Wright, that sends the album into a solid closing. I hope they play this at Wright’s funeral, as it’s my favorite piece of his music: solid, melodic, moving, and very much “Rick.”

Rest in peace, Rick.

Download: “Paint Box” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Us And Them” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “The Great Gig In The Sky” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Summer Elegy” - Rick Wright (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Astronomy Domine” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Night Of A Thousand Furry Toys” - Rick Wright (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part IX)” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Oh, we want it alright. There’s something special about a great live performance, and that’s what we’ve decided to explore after tossing around ideas for this month’s list:

Give us your favorite spectacular live moments, or live recordings that surpass the original studio cuts — whatever it is, as long as it’s not canned.

Rudi seconded my motion:

My pick would be “Got Live…” if only because September is the last month (for most of the northern hemisphere, anyway) for the big outdoor concerts and live music in all kinds of venues

So give our picks a listen, then check the schedules at your local ampitheaters & clubs and go see a show! I know my next few weeks are packed (The Swell Season, Ben Folds, Amy MacDonald, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, oh my!) — how about you?

• The Man(del) from UNCLE’s “One Night Only… Times Seven”
• Uncle Sam’s “Is it live or is it Memorex? Oh wait — yeah, it’s live.”
• Onkel Rudi’s “All I need is a microphone, a stage, and an audience”
• UNKLE Matt’s “Live And Direct”

Stay tuned later in the month for a second set of lists, one from each of us, focusing on a single band or performer. Hope you dig!