To Play Without a Paracute

Lou Reed : The Bells

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In April of 1979, Lou Reed released The Bells, an album that "dropped into a dark well" as Reed himself said. I'm only listening to it for the first time this month, egged on by an ecstatic contemporaneous review by Lester Bangs in his last ever for Rolling Stone:

The Bells isn’t merely Lou Reed’s best solo LP, it’s great art. Everybody made a fuss over Street Hassle, but too many reviewers overlooked the fact that it was basically a sound album: brilliant layers of live and studio work in a deep wash of bass-obsessive noise. Most of the songs were old, and not very good, with a lot of the same old cheap shots...all through (The Bells), Reed plays the best guitar anyone’s heard from him in ages. As for the lyrics — well, people tend to forget that in numbers like “Candy Says,” “Sunday Morning” and “Oh! Sweet Nothing,” Lou Reed wrote some of the most compassionate songs ever recorded.

I'm now halfway through the album and I'm not hearing the brilliance Lester Bangs is celebrating. In fact, I've never heard Reed sing like this. So hyper on some of these tracks.  He sounds like the comedian John Mulvaney imitating himself as a kid.

The Bells is a strange collection with three songs written in a short partnership with Crazy Horse's Nils Lofgren ("City Lights", "Stupid Man", "With You") who did not play on the album. Jazz trumpeter Don Cherry joined the sessions and can be heard on the nine minute title track, one of Reed's all time favorite recordings. What is it about? Reed said the lyrics came as he sang them and every time he hears "The Bells" it means something different. 

Another notable track is "Disco Mystic", which Bangs thought should have been a hit. Arista Records' Clive Davis didn't hear a single. The label didn't support the album, which peaked at 130 on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart. Reed would release only one album for Arista  before he'd have to go label shopping again. 

On the bright side, Reed was living in Blairstown New Jersey outside the city and reportedly weaning himself off of drugs. He and Sylvia Morales had an 18 acre wooded property where Reed would shoot baskets and snack on fruits and nuts.

"I really love it. It smells great. Even if you wanted to do something there's nothing here. It's appalling how much sleep I get."

In 1980 Lou and Sylvia would get married.

O.K., I've listened to the whole album and I think the best cut is "Families", which sounds like an honest assessment of his relationship with his mom, dad and kid sister. They apparently weren't all that happy with the song.

A Message to Millions

Nils Lofgren : Keith Don't Go (Ode to a Glimmer Twin)

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In October of 1977, Nils Lofgren released a double live album called Night After Night.  Recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, Apollo Theater in Glasgow and The Roxy in Los Angeles, the album captures the diminutive guitar giant at his best.

40 Year Itch : Another Shot of Rock n' Roll

Nils Lofgren : Incidentally...It's Over

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   Nils Lofren's follow-up to his first solo album, one of my very favorites of 1975, just doesn't have the same impact. Blame it on the songs, the session musicians ( drummer Aynsley Dunbar and bassist Wornell Jones) or the curse of the sophomore slump. The best track, "Incidentally...It's Over", features the same rhythm section who played on the debut.

40 Year Itch : Broken Dreams All On the Floor

Nils Lofgren : Movies/Back It Up

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  Treasured by those of us who think Nils Lofgren's solo debut is one of the great albums of 1975, this October 31, 1975 recording of a live radio broadcast at The Record Plant for KSAN-FM is a rollicking collection of songs performed by Lofgren, his touring band and, on some tunes, special guest Al Kooper. The songs are looser. Each tune gives Lofgren room to show why his guitar and piano skills earned him roles as sideman for both Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.

40 Year Itch : Your Light Shines Through

Nazareth : Beggar's Day/Rose in the Heather

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Play this wicked Nils Lofgren cover as loud as your speakers can take it.

40 Year Itch : Hope Was All Around Me

Steve Buscemi, Class of 75

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   Another nugget from that brilliant Nils Lofgren self-titled album released in January of 1975, "The Sun Hasn't Set On This Boy Yet" is an autobiographical song about a young rocker who heads west to find himself and to find out what life is all about. It was Neil Young who, in 1970,  invited a 19-year old Lofgren to California. Nils would play on After the Gold Rush and later, another album released in 1975, Tonight's the Night.

40 Year Itch : One Boy Whose Time Has Come

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   When the Rolling Stones were looking for a guitarist to replace Mick Taylor, Nils Lofgren called Keith Richards. He got the number from Ronnie Wood. Lofgren tells the rest of the story in this interview:

   Keith Richards answered. I couldn't believe it. He didn't know me, but was totally honest and open with me. He said, 'Yeah, we want Ronnie but he won't do it. I'm frustrated.' He said the whole band was going to audition guitarists at a cattle call in Geneva or some exotic city and if I wanted to come down, no problem. Then, within the next week or so, Ronnie changed his mind and took the gig. That's the whole story.

   But that story doesn't explain this song from Nils Lofgren's 1975 solo debut, which sounds like a plea to Keith Richards ( who along with Mick Jagger produced albums as The Glimmer Twins) to get healthy and stick around for future Rolling Stones albums and tours. Here's Nils's explanation:

   It is intended to be a giant thank you note to Keith on behalf of all of us fans. The ominous chords and melody, were also a great backdrop to implore Keith to take care of his health for his sake and ours and to continue sharing his great gift with us all.

    I'd just like to point out that Nils Lofgren's solo debut is also a great gift and very easily one of my 10 favorite albums of 1975. Guess I'm not the only one who feels that way:

   In April of 2014, Nils uploaded this acoustic version of "Keith Don't Go" and even if you can't spare the entire seven minutes, you should at least skip ahead to the 3:00 mark for some jaw-dropping guitar playing. 

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  On this date in 1975, The Wiz : The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" mades its Broadway debut.

40 Years Ago This Month: Nils Lofgren, Leo Kottke & Malo

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Nils Lofgren and band mates hit power pop perfection with the single "White Lies" but it only received heavy airplay in the Washington D.C. area. Even with an "A" rating from Robert Christagu, 1 +1 , released in January of 1972, did not sell. C'est dommage!  At 20, Lofgren had already played guitar and piano on After The Gold Rush and with Crazy Horse on their debut. After Grin broke up, years before touring worth Springsteen, Lofgren recorded a self-titled album in 1975 that will always stand out as a personal favorite.

BTW, I planned to post a song from this album. I know I used to have "Lost A Number" on a now-deceased IPod. In the digital age we can lose songs as easily as a sock in the dryer.




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Fingerpickin' guitarist Leo Kottke gets funky all by himself on this opening track from his January 1972 release Greenhouse, my introduction to this brilliant musician. "The Song of The Swamp", "Louise" and the buoyant "Spanish Entomologist" reveal the exuberant talent of this Athens GA native.




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Carlos Santana's brother Jorge was one of the guitarists in the 12-piece San Francisco band Malo. You'll hear more brass than on any Santana album, often used to great effect. "Suavecito", which has become something of an anthem for American Chicanos, hit the Top 20 in 1972. Maybe it's because I was growing up in Malo's hometown then, but this song transports me to a spot on the Marina Green beneath dozens of flying kites.



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Members of the Rolling Stones jamming with Ry Cooder may sound like a great way to spend your time and money but it's really nothing more than a curiosity.