"There's all kinds of music, everywhere you go/Some folks like it fast, and some like it slow..." --Tower of Power
I have fairly varied and (so I'm told) eclectic tastes in music. I'll listen to almost any style, although my favorites are rock, blues, and soul, with a little Caribbean stuff thrown in. I also like classical music, though I don't listen often.
I'm a big fan of Jimmy Buffett. That's the guy over on the left there. I suppose I'm something of a parrothead, but I don't really like that label. Jimmy's official web site at Margaritaville, and you can listen to his music (and others!) at Radio Margaritaville.
I guess what I like most about Jimmy is his writing, whether it's songs or stories. He writes really vivid, memorable characters, and puts them in interesting situations. Jimmy's music has changed a lot over the years, from his early roots as a folk/country singer to his more recent "tropical island" slant. Although it sounds different on the surface, at some level, he's still just telling stories.
Together with Herman Wouk, Jimmy has written a musical adaptation of Wouk's novel Don't Stop the Carnival. I can't wait to see it! The soundtrack is available, and it's good stuff. Much more authentic Caribbean style than Jimmy's usual work.
Even if you're not hot on his style of music, I heartily recommend Jimmy's books. He's done a book of short stories (did I mention his story-telling?) called Tales From Margaritaville, which has nothing in particular to do with the song of a similar name. He's also written a novel, Where Is Joe Merchant?, which is supposed to be made into a movie. His book A Pirate Looks at Fifty made him one of only a handful of writers to ever be the #1 bestseller on both the fiction and non-fiction lists in the New York Times. It's part travelogue, part memoir, and pretty interesting.
And he and his daughter Savannah Jane have written some books for children. The first one, The Jolly Mon, is very good. The other one I read, The Trouble Dolls, is also pretty good.
My other favorite band of all time is Tower of Power. That's the cover of their album, Souled Out, over on the right. It's good, but I still think their previous album, T.O.P. is one of their best ever. I really enjoyed their next album, Rhythm and Business, too.
But you haven't lived until you've heard their classic number, Squib Cakes.
Tower of Power is from the Oakland, CA area. I grew up there, so I heard them a lot as a teenager. It just wasn't a party if we didn't play most (if not all) of the Live and in Living Color album. Despite an amazing number of changes in the makeup of the band (I can't count the number of lead singers they've had!), they still have the tightest, sweetest horn section in the business.
For a band that's been taking care of business for over 30 years, they are still incredibly busy. In the last year, they've released a live album, partly recorded at their October, 1998 concerts at San Francisco's historic Fillmore Auditorium. I was there, and it sounded great. I also caught them playing with B.B. King last summer.
These concerts also marked the first time I've heard the band since they got their newest lead sax player, Norbert Stachel, who went to grade school with me!
In addition to all that, Rhino Records has released two terrific Tower of Power CDs. One is a two-disc anthology of their music. It sounds great, and the booklet with it is wonderful, full of old pictures, interviews, and so on. Rhino has also dredged up an unreleased CD of tracks the band recorded in the early 80s. It's not their best stuff, but it's quite good.
The other great news from Tower of Power land is that one of the band founders, Steve Kupka, has put together a group that includes a bunch of old T.O.P. folks and other great musicians to record CDs as the Strokeland Superband. I enjoy these a lot.
Here are some other groups and performers I like a lot:
Phil
Collins, because he never lets you forget he's a drummer!
I also enjoyed his work with Genesis (Phil has severed
his ties with the group now). But I think his solo stuff is terrific, and
his live performances are truly electrifying.
Steve Miller, especially when he's playing the blues. OK, I like the pop stuff, too, but his blues is great! He's playing it a lot more these days.
Eric Clapton -- What can you say? He's the God of Guitar.
Little Feat -- a great blues band with a sense of humor! Gotta love that Dixie Chicken!
And how could I leave out John Fogerty? Another local guy who made it real big. His recent work shows that he can still rock and roll like the good old days, but his guitar technique has improved over the years, and his voice sounds good. "Put me in, Coach!"
Deanna Bogart -- Deanna fronts a really hot band that plays clubs on the East Coast. She's also released her third CD. Look for her CDs in the Blues section: Hard to find, but worth looking for! If you get a chance to see her live, do it! I saw her when she was in San Francisco a few years ago, and it was a terrific time.
And for those of you in the San Francisco area, I must recommend the Fabulous Bud E. Luv. He's pretty hard to describe. He's a lounge singer. Well, kind of a parody of a lounge singer. He's absolutely hilarious. Catch him in San Francisco at the Paradise Lounge. He also plays down around L.A. sometimes. And he, too, has written a book: You Oughta Be Me.
And finally, in the category of fine artists who are no longer with us, I want to mention Steve Goodman, who died in 1984 of cancer. You can see more about Steve at his record label site, Red Pajamas Records. You probably know at least one of Steve's songs, City of New Orleans, called by some the best train song ever written, and made famous when Arlo Guthrie recorded it. Steve was a terrific song writer, and a fun performer. Much missed.
While not strictly music, this does lapse over into that and my interest in science fiction. Check out the recordings from the ZBS Foundation. My favorites are Ruby, the Galactic Gumshoe and the adventures of Jack Flanders.
They combine interesting stories with fantastic background music and sound effects. Well worth checking out!