Doesn't surprise me one bit about Crow.  In addition, all she ever did up until his death is make fun of Michael Jackson, who gave her a big lift career-wise by hiring her as a background touring vocalist.  This enabled her to meet important contacts in the music industry.  Yes, the entire Jackson clan is messed up big time, but being beaten up by your father every day will do that to you!  I digress.  The last track on Crow's new "soul album" is a cover of The Jackson Five's "I'll Be There," which she dedicates to her "dear friend Michael Jackson."  In interviews promoting the album, she's gone on and on praising him and what a huge influence he was on her career and musical education.  If that's not a self-serving hypocrite, I don't know what is.

One of the would-be MILFs at my parish picnic told me last year that "All Summer Long" was the greatest rock song of all-time! I told her it's actually two classic rock songs put together and she didn't realize it!  I think it's GARBAGE, but I do like that song "Care" that Kid did at the Jon Stewart rally a couple of weeks ago.  I believe it's on his new album, too.

Sheryl Crow -  I do NOT get this woman at all or her appeal other than she's smokin' hawt!  I KNOW that sounds sexist, but the woman rips EVERYONE off when she writes an "original."  "All I Wanna Do" is "Stuck In The Middle With You" with different lyrics.  I can't believe Gerry Rafferty didn't sue her for that one!  Now she's trying to reinvent herself as a soul singer on her new album, but she doesn't have the chops and the results are laughable.  It's like all those white guys who try to sound black by sounding constipated.  She does the old "yeah-ah-yeah-ee-yeah-ah-yeah" with every syllable.  That's not soul, that's just tasteless!  She was notorious for taking up with married guys, then expected everyone to feel sorry for her when Lance Armstrong dumped her....after she helped break up his marriage.  Again, I don't get her.  My sister in law, a person I really respect and a great keys/vocalist thinks Crow is the most talented woman in pop music.  Maybe it's me....

Weird Al just plain bites IMHO, but I don't know anything.  I don't get him and he annoys the crap out of me.  My kids love him.

Hendrix sang, "Excuse me, while I kiss this guy!" on many live recordings of "Purple Haze."

Typical George Harrison pun (Vol. 3 instead of 2).  When he wasn't being all spiritual (not that that's a bad thing, but when it's "I have God and you don't," well....), he was a pretty goofy and funny guy.  As much as I'm  not a huge Jeff Lynne fan, he got some good work out of Harrison on the 1980s and "Brainwashed," his posthumous last album, even if I don't always love his production style.

Yesterday I listened to Vol. 3 (the second album, LOL!) while working out at the health club.  Some thoughts:

1. Does NOT sound like ELO this time out, much closer to a roots rock with saxes sound like The Iguanas from New Orleans

2. More of a group effort than Vol. 1, which was dominated more by Dylan: everyone has several spotlights, although Jeff Lynne is mostly a background vocalist once again

3. Totally underrated album, possibly because of the absence of Roy Orbison

4. I enjoyed this album much more now than when it was originally released, the opposite of Vol. 1.

You can find the 3 disc set (the two studio albums and a DVD of videos/documentary) for as low as $12 new from some Amazon merchants if any of you ELO/Beatles/Petty/Orbison/Dylan fans are interested.

Any Beatles, ELO, Petty, Orbison or Dylan fans into this "supergroup?"  I recently listened to the remastered first album (Vol. 1) for the first time in years yesterday.  Here are my thoughts:

1. Everyone seems to really be having a great time.

2. I still say Jeff Lynne (ELO) makes everyone he produces sound like ELO, although there are a lot more acoustic guitar textures here than you'd ever find on a typical ELO album.  There are some keyboard strings and textures here and there that totally date the album.  It SCREAMS 1980s, which I guess makes sense...

3. Dylan is in sharper form here than he was for most of the 80s.  In fact, he steals several tunes with his sly wit.  I particularly like "Tweeter and the Monkey Man," his ruthless satire of early Springsteen (and let's face it, The Boss copped a ton from Dyan: even he admits it).

4. George Harrison and Roy Orbison could REALLY sing, even as they aged a bit.  This was not an auto tune special!  Harrison's slide guitar is wonderful (I think it's him, it sounds like him, but no individual track credits are given...although Lynne copped a lot of HIS slide playing from George...what didn't he steal from The Beatles?).

5. Tom Petty sounds comically lightweight vocally, even next to Dylan and that's saying a lot (I say this as a Dylan fan).

6. The whole thing sounds dashed off in about a week, which is was, with goofy lyrical couplets that are put together just to rhyme.

7. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when the album was new, but it's held up better than a lot of big 80s albums, including "Born In The USA."

Any other opinions?

So how was it, Kath?  I was not a huge fan of PF post-The Wall.  I think they were best with Waters AND Wright on board.

In the mid-1970s, Cummings was often mentioned as one of the greatest vocalists of the rock era, along with David Clayton Thomas of B,S&T (!).  I don't think he has that reputation anymore (and heaven knows a lot of DCT's performances now sound over the top and laugh-inducing).  Didn't Cummings make a reunion album with Randy Bachman (the lead guitarist of GW, better known from Bachman-Turner Overdrive), a gifted guitarist who can play any style lead guitar?  Bachman recently reunited with C.F. Turner for an album that is supposed to sound a LOT like BTO, but that's stuff I grew out of many decades ago.

Anyway, I remember Cummings was on the old Soundstage in the mid 1970s and sang solo and GH material.  The thing that sticks out is he had a HUGE brandy snifter he kept gulping out of the entire concert (perched on top of his piano!).  Supposedly he was another case of someone who couldn't get his substance abuse under control, something that caused strict Mormon Bachman to bail on the Guess Who.  Eventually the rest of the band tired of Cumming unreliability and the band folded.

Cummings had a couple of solo hits, that's all I remember.  They were OK for the time.  I think GH's "Undun" is probably my favorite as it's an atypical, possibly Van Morrison - influenced tune closer to jazz/rock fusion than straight rock and roll and probably is the least dated sounding to me.  "American Woman" has cringe - inducing lyrics to my ears in 2010.  But that's me.

P,

Thanks for that.  It was fascinating to read that as a guitarist (and woodwinds) player of some almost-40 years (yeah, I WAS very young when I started). 

I find the comment about the auto-tuning very interesting, as I did the entire article.   My SIL, a working musician, told me that whenever she hears the Jonas Brothers live on a TV show, their harmonies are non-existent and the lead vocals are super-pitchy.  Ad SL says in the article, THAT'S auto-tuning.  But 2,000 screaming tweeners don't care about things like being on key, do they? 

S

My wife gave me the 4 disc 'Gimme Some Truth" boxed set for Sweetest Day.  The sound is excellent and the set includes all of "Rock and Roll" and "Plastic Ono Band."  "Imagine," "Mind Games," "Walls and Bridges," "Double Fantasy" and "Milk and Honey" are missing only one track each (in the case of the latter two albums, that would be one "John track" each, no Yoko singing except for her tuneless braying on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Happy Xmas -War Is Over".....but even her "singing" can't sink that Xmas classic), none of which are essential.  There are a couple live tracks not included in the big box and "Some Time In NYC" (perhaps Lennon's most unlistenable release post-Wedding album trilogy with Yoko) has only a smattering of tracks, but that's fine with me.  All in all, for $30 (what she paid for it on Amazon), for a 4 disc set packed with over 70 minutes of music per disc, it's a great buy.  I like the themed approach of the discs and it actually makes his solo stuff more interesting to listen to.

I'm wondering if Sir Paul is going to follow suit with his own retrospective boxed set now that the Lennon one is out there.  The "Band On The Run" boxed set is due next month, kicking off his remaster campaign with Concord Records, as he felt Capital/EMI was taking him for granted.  Or something like that.  Personally, I think last year's 2CD/1DVD "Live In NYC" is probably the only Paul album or boxed set anyone ever needs from him: he kicks much harder live and even the ballads lose a lot of their sugar coating in the concert setting.

That company (Capital/EMI) is in a world of trouble, having lost Macca's solo catalog and recently lost a case with Pink Floyd for future CD pressings and digital sales.  The bulk of that label's revenue (which was purchased a couple of years ago in a foolish move for an astronomical sum) has been mostly from The Beatles and Pink Floyd catalog items, with a smattering of solo Paul and John.  I'm sure they will see some revenue injection with the Lennon remasters and boxed sets, but nothing along the lines of last year's Beatles campaign.

Well, the big day has come and gone (Lennon remasters).  I'm in the process of reading "Magical Mystery Tours" by longtime Beatles friend and employee Tony Bramwell and it's put me in an even more anti-Yoko mood than before.  According to this text, she pursued Lennon relentlessly, not the other way around as he liked to tell it.  She has seemed to be on a quest for $, no doubt fueled by certain expensive habits both legal and illegal.  So...I'm not buying anything.  I already have all the listenable solo Lennon anyway, courtesy of the earlier reissues of his albums on CD.  Pass.

i agree with both of you: George Martin was a vital part of the Beatles team.  In many cases he juggled song structure such as opening a song with the chorus instead of the verse, contributed instrumental ideas, etc.  That was another reason that with few exceptions, the Fab Four's solo recordings weren't on the same level as their group outings.  Martin also did excellent work with America:  once he was out of the picture, their recording quality and career really fell apart.

REO: I agree, much better without Cronin.  Now he IS REO, bad face lift and all!

As a possible last word on this topic, I was in the car driving with the family today and had the 2 CD John Lennon "Working Class Hero" set on.  Ya know, a lot of his solo stuff is TOO intense and not really enjoyable.  Something is missing...Paul?  George?  Ringo? 

There was certainly no Paul to balance his more caustic tendencies.  I find my favorite stuff of his to be the last (HIS tracks from "Double Fantasy" and "Milk and Honey") and a handful of singles ("Power To The People," "Imagine, " "#9 Dream," "Stand By Me," "Give Peace A Chance" and of course, the awesome "Instant Karma!").

Paul, on the other hand, needed John to keep him from his overly sweet and bubblegummy leanings.  About the only Wings stuff I can stomach is "Band On The Run."

Being a HUGE Star Trek fan, I could never forget T'Pau, LOL!

Samantha Fox came out as a lesbian in recent years as is supposedly attempting a singing comeback.  Was she ever a **** actress or simply a "Page Two" (or is it "Page Three") British tabloid newspaper **** model?   I forget.

Lita Ford is still pretty hot!

What about REO?  I know some associate them with the 1970s, but they had their biggest hits in the 1980s before imploding and most of the band leaving Kevin Cronin to front a ghost band.  And NO, I'm no longer a fan, LOL!