Prime iterations of It-Ness. Dept. of The Communities.
It-ness: The Communities.
Paul Weller and The Jam.
The angry, but smartly suited, young men of The Jam, featuring vocalist and “Modfather Paul Weller, combined briskly tempoed rock with Motown R&B to exceptional effect. Weller went on to further fine doings with The Style Council before launching a solo career.
Townes Van Zandt.
Composer/Vocalist Townes Van Zandt is responsible for many poignant masterpieces; this represents merely a small-ish sampling. Loretta would be a prime example; though the lyrics are warm, a sense of melancholy nonetheless pervades the song. His “hit” Pancho and Lefty was covered by Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard, and wistfulness clearly prevails. The powerful Waitin’ Around to Die speaks for itself.
Tremendously influential, Van Zandt led a life that was quite troubled, being tormented not only by his bipolar condition, but by numerous addictions which eventually cost the great man his life. He contributed in ways difficult to fathom, however, to the musical landscape, and will not soon be forgotten.
David Bowie.
A modest collection of brilliant live performances by Mr. Bowie, with a wondrous, pared-down demo thrown in for good measure. The constantly reinventing, quasi-androgynous David Robert Jones {his birthname} pioneered his way through the music world, leaving the landscape forever altered—with new worlds and vistas previously undreamt of—in his wake.
The Bounding of The Al Stewart.
Two mighty renditions of this Bounding classic.
The maestro of haunting, enigmatic songster-ing, Al Stewart not only achieved immortality via his Bounding {Glaswegian Method}exploits; some of the most indescribably poignant, mysterious works ever composed/performed are entirely his doing.
Stewart here performs the timeless, iconic Year of the Cat; the mighty Lord Grenville {perhaps his finest, most evocative composition…}; and Palace of Versailles, so difficult to ignore or forget.
Barry…….Bonds…
Arguably the greatest baseball player of all time—considering not only his immense gifts as a hitter, with a devastating, lightning-quick, compact swing which was so deadly and feared, he set records for intentional walks—but also as a base stealer and left fielder—Barry Bonds certainly was the greatest of his generation. And the most beloved. Well….
Guitarists, of Note.
The twin titans, Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, share amusements and dovetail perfectly in these performances.
Then, Terry Kath of Chicago. Hendrix had high praise for this great man.
Well. Hendrix himself.
Mr. John McLaughlin and Co.
The mighty and eternal Allan Holdsworth.
And, of course, the great Pat Martino.
Indeleble performances from giants of the art.
The Jazzes.
Titans of improvised music display their immense powers.
World’s Greatest Vocalist: Dwight Yoakam.
Dwight Yoakam can simply do the impossible with his voice. See North to Alaska, among many others, for evidence. He steps into the very large shoes of legend Johnny Horton, and…whoa. A transcendent, jaw-dropping, awe-inducing performance. And, the same can be said of his live 2013 reading of the Red Simpson-penned Close Up The Honky Tonks. Even a young, inexperienced Yoakam—in his 1985 performance above, he shyly asks the audience if they like the show—kills it. A not-many-times-an-epoch talent.
Geldof, Serpents, Etc.
The Boomtown Rats, led by Bob Geldof, perform three of their best, plus a nod to the great Syd Barrett. Geldof might be using a very large python for a microphone, at times. At other times, he strikes a Nixonian pose. On still other occasions, he does neither.
“Sir” Bob {as he is an Irish citizen, he cannot officially/correctly be referred to as “Sir”…} is deeply committed as an activist, particularly to famine relief in Africa.
