David + David - 1986-12-17 - The Roxy, Hollywood, CA

David + David
1986-12-17
The Roxy, Hollywood, CA
Pre-FM Recording, Excellent quality
Mp3 @ 320 kbps

Remember David + David, that dynamite rock duo (consisting of David Baerwald and David Ricketts) that burst on the music scene in 1986 with their powerful, dark, and dynamic debut single 'Welcome to the Boomtown'?  Well I certainly do, but was only just reminded of them when as I was transferring some old music files to a new hard drive and I came across this excellent show and recording from David + David in the midst of their debut tour. Of course, if you don't remember them it is probably because they came and went pretty quickly, as after their tour in support of their only album, Boomtown (1986), they quickly broke up and went their separate ways. They only had that one 'hit' single, which only just broke the top 40 on the charts. But as it is with most so-called 'One-Hit Wonders', there is alot more to their story than that one hit single. Although receiving considerable air-play on FM radio, their potential follow-up singles, 'Swallowed by the Cracks' and 'Ain't it Easy', which also were fine songs, never broke through onto the charts, and that was it for the 'band'. Talented multi-instrumentalists and songwriters, David and David had played all the instruments on their album, but never followed with another album. They played as session musicians, and David Baerwald ventured into a solo career, with a couple fine solo albums in the subsequent years,  Bedtime Stories (1990) and Triage (1992), which were critically-acclaimed, but sales-challenged. David Ricketts worked on albums with Toni Childs and Robbie Robertson in the late '80's to early '90's. Later in 1992, David Baerwald, with his producer friend Bill Bottrell founded the 'Tuesday Music Club' which was a loose assemblage of musicians and songwriters that would get together and play (and also sometimes included David Ricketts). Out of that group, and working with an aspiring young female singer-songwriter, developed into Sheryl Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club, with Baerwald and others from that assemblage sharing songwriting credits on most of the songs. However, with the sensational success of Crow and that album, disputes and disagreements within the group (regarding songwriting and who deserved credit for the sound and style of the album) lead to that association falling apart as well (although Sheryl continued to blossom). Baerwald continued on more as a songwriter than performer, with his songs being recorded and performed by a wide variety of artists, ranging from Waylon Jennings, Fishbone, Susanna Hoffs, Leann Rimes, Holly Cole to Nicole Kidman and Luciano Pavarotti. Baerwald has also worked extensively as a songwriter and score composer for various film and television projects.
But this fine show takes us back to their glory days as David+David, which was a great '80's band, if only for a short time.

Tracklist:
01. A Rock For The Forgotten 04:56
02. Good Times 04:05
03. Band Chatter 00:27
04. Swimming In The Ocean 04:04
05. Being Alone Together 06:52
06. Swallowed By the Cracks 04:59
07. Heroes 03:14
08. All Alone In the Big City 04:55
09. My Eyes Are Open 03:39
10. Welcome To The Boomtown 05:47
11. Ain't So Easy 04:51
12. River's Gonna Rise 05:32
13. Crowd / Band Chatter 00:28
14. Ah, Baby 03:35
15. The Pusher 05:31

David Ricketts - keyboards, guitar, vocals;
David Baerwald - guitar, vocals;
Paulinho Da Costa - percussion;
Rick Stekol - guitar;
Jeff Martin - keyboards;
Greg Ellis - drums;
Stu Hamm - bass;
Toni Childs - backing vocals;
Amy Knowell - backing vocals

David+David_1986-12-17_Roxy-Hollwood.rar

Happy New Year?

Another year over and a new one just begun

So here we are at the start of another year, with the making of more new year's resolutions and heartfelt hopes and wishes that this year will be better than the last. But, of course, we all know that making things better does not result from turnig the calendar page over to the next year or by wishing it so. No, to make things better in our own lives and the world around us we each have to work to make that happen. And that can (and should) happen at any time of the year, it just takes an effort and wanting to improve. And still, there is so much that we wish were better that is completely beyond our own control. But we have to do what we can. So, there's nothing special about January that should take on all the burden of making things get better. But I do understand where this all comes from and I do feel it too. Although of no practical significance, the start of a new year does make a convenient indicator of the end of one thing and the beginning of another, and endings and new beginnings are always something of great emotional importance. And so it is only natural to hope for the best in those new beginnings even if nothing has really changed. There is that internal yearning for something better. It's like in Paul Simon's great and vastly underappreciated song 'Train in the Distance' in which the chorus goes 'Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true' and the final verse sums things up 'So what is the point of this story, what information pertains? The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains.' And so it goes out from me to you as well, hopes and wishes that this year will be a great one, and let's all do whatever we can to at least make it a bit better, ok? Happy New Year to all.

I'll keep providing some worthwhile tunes, if only somewhat sporadically, when I can, and I hope you'll keep on coming by to check things out, and hopefully there'll be something here to make your life just a little bit better, at least for awhile with some fine music. Thank you to all that make this blog possible and Happy New Year to all.

Neil Innes & Friends - 2004-04-21 - Chicago, IL

Neil Innes & Friends
2004-04-21
Live at Martyr’s, Chicago, IL

Soundboard recording, very good quality
Mp3 @ 320 kbps
NEIL INNES R.I.P. (1944 - 2019)


English writer, comedian, and musician Neil Innes died of a heart attack last week (December 29, 2019). He was 75. Although Neil may not have been a big name in rock music, in the world of comedy music he was legendary. He was a founding member-performer (and chief songwriter) for the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band in the late 60's-early 70's, and went on to record multiple solo comedy music albums. He was a collaborator with the Monty Python troupe in the 70's, writing numerous songs for their shows and movies (For example, he wrote the songs and played multiple parts, such as Sir Robin's minstrel, for Monty Python & The Holy Grail). He then teamed with Pythoner Eric Idle for the sketch show Rutland Weekend Televsion (1975-76). A Beatles parody bit that started on that show (The Rutles) was expanded into an appearance on Saturday Night Live, and then a full-length Television special (All You Need is Cash, 1978) and album, and worldwide fame (?). Neil played and performed in The Rutles as Ron Nasty (the John Lennon-type Rutle), and wrote all of the parody songs. The Rutles lived on long after the initial show and album, however, being revived in 1996 with a new album (Archaeology, a play on the Beatles Anthology), tours, and more. I have previously posted various collections of Rutles bootlegs here. Today, I have a show of Neil performing both solo and with a full band from about 15 years ago, and which features songs from throughout his career, of which more than half of those played are Rutles songs. Overall, it serves as a fine tribute to Neil, his humor, and his music.

Tracklist:
Neil Innes & Ken Thornton (tr. 11-14)
101. intro 1:04
102. How Sweet To Be An Idiot 3:13
103. I’m the Urban Spaceman 0:45
104. Comedy - Pathos - Short Blues 1:44
105. Love is Getting Deeper 4:00
106. intro 1:50
107. Evening Sun 4:01
108. Godfrey Daniel 3:02
109. Protest Song 4:01
110. Introducing Rutling Ken 1:18
111. Friends at the End 5:08
112. You’re Never Alone 5:05
113. intro 0:47
114. Ego Warriors 5:12

Neil Innes & Friends (full band set)
201. Introduction 0:56
202. One of Those People 4:27
203. Equestrian Statue 3:10
204. Randy Racquel 3:02
205. Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik 4:43
206. With a Girl Like You 2:03
207. Hey Mister 3:48
208. Doubleback Alley 2:59
209. Good Times Roll 2:04
210. Another Day 0:54
211. Cheese and Onions 2:25
212. Introduction 0:44
213. I Want to Be With You 2:22
214. Bruce’s Philosopher’s Song 1:44
215. Feel No Shame 6:11
216. Ballad of Sir Robin 1:15
217. Goose-Step Mama 2:35
218. I Must Be In Love 2:30
219. Introduction 1:03
220. Ouch! 2:09
221. Questionnaire 3:19
222. Piggy in the Middle 4:02
223. Joe Public 4:39
224. Get Up and Go 4:11
225. Introduction 0:52
226. I’m the Urban Spaceman 3:14

Neil Innes - electro-acoustic guitar, keyboard, vocals
Ken Thornton - electric guitar, guitar-synth, backing vocals
Ken Simpson - acoustic guitar, backing vocals
“Pink Bob” Harper - keyboards, claves, ukelele, underwater trumpet
Clay Thompson - bass guitar, backing vocals
John Ganser - drums
Tom Sparrow - percussion

Neil Innes & Friends_2004-04-21_Chicago_mp3.rar