Saturday, November 17, 2007

STEVIE WONDER

"Stevie Wonder," I think, is the least imaginative title for a post I've come up with yet. But on the other hand, it's Stevie Wonder: you don't need to say much more. I just love the guy and his music.

Unfortunately, I missed out when tickets went on sale for the concert he is playing tonight at Madison Square Garden. And, of course, they sold out really quickly. So, I'm not going. Which is a big time bummer.

Still, in the weeks leading up to this show, I've been listening to a lot of his music, sort of as a prayer vigil in hopes that tickets would somehow materialize. That fact is, it's always good to listen to some Stevie. He truly is on of the greats. I don't know if it is cliche at this point to talk about how 1976's Songs In The Key Of Life is just one of the best records ever. But that's one that I always go back to. I have it on vinyl: it's a double LP, but it came with a bonus 45". That's unbelievable: a double album wasn't enough for him, and he didn't want to hold on to the other songs for his next album. He was 26 years old at the time. And it was like his 20th album.

I always love to sort of turn people on to non-"greatest hits" songs from iconic artists. In Stevie's case, there are a bunch of them - which is crazy, when you consider how many huge hit singles he's had. From his early days, I love "A Place In The Sun" and "Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday." From the '70s, there's like an embarassment of riches: "I Believe (When I Fall In Love With You It Will Be Forever)" is one of them. I love the richard nixon bitch-slap of "You Haven't Done Nothin'," which, today, sounds like it could've been written about w. Another song that not a lot of people cite is "As," from Songs In The Key Of Life. It's such a great love song, and it kind of works for any kind of love. I remember when we hired the band for our wedding, they asked if we wanted them to learn any songs for us, and I asked for "As." "No problem!" I was like, "Are you sure, it's a pretty long, pretty complex song..." They ended up playing the CD version. I actually told Stevie Wonder this story, and he laughed (more on that below). I'd read that he has said that "As" is his best lyric. Another one I love is Stevie's version of Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind." He first recorded it when he was 15, and years later he performed it at the Dylan tribute concert in 1992. The performance is just so moving, and in my mind he kind of owns the song. Oh yeah, one more: "Love's In Need Of Love Today," which opens Songs In The Key Of Life. He also performed it at the post-9/11 telethon America: A Tribute To Heroes.

So, my meeting with Stevie. I got to interview him at the Grammy Awards, I think it was 2005. I was packing up my VH1 crew to go to the edit when I heard he might talk to us. "Wait!" We set back up, and then Stevie Wonder appears in the door of our one-on-one room. I was told he would answer one question. Luckily, no one told Stevie that. It wasn't the longest interview, but I'll never forget it. A weird thing happened: at these events, when you do an interview, there's a ton of people in the room: everyone from VH1, and the artists publicist, maybe some label people, management, other people from their entourage. Stevie came by at the end of the night, everyone was beat, and no one was in the room except for me, him, and two members of my crew. We were chatting while the crew was setting up, I told him the "As" story, asked him about his next album (he said he was finishing it up, the album was A Time To Love) and he says "How old are you anyway?" He was surprised that I knew so much about him. I told him that I saw his last New York concert at Radio City Music Hall in 1994 or 1995, and that I'd never seen such a wide mix of young and old, black and white people at a concert, and he smiled.

Another thing about these interviews, is that you usually have people telling you that your time is up. But there was no one in there to do that. But after a few minutes, I thought I shouldn't take advantage of the situation, and said, "Stevie, I could talk to you all night, but I know you gotta go." Then I realized, he can't just get up. I walked over to him, and he held my arm in both hands as I led him out the door. I just couldn't believe it, and I have chills writing about it right now.

Well, I'm still bummed about missing the show tonight. But I feel blessed to have seen his Radio City concert, and to have had a conversation with the man, brief as it was.

"HEY MAN, THAT SUIT IS YOU!"

So, this week I went to see Van Halen' s reunion tour with David Lee Roth. I'd seen some of Dave's solo shows in the '80s, but never Dave with VH, and none of the non-Dave versions of the band.

Truth be told, I probably hadn't listened to any Van Halen at all in a really long time. Earlier this year, when it was announced that they were going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I started listening again. And in the weeks leading up to this concert, I started yet again. It really is amazing how well thier music (from the DLR-era) has held up. In the course of six albums, they hardly had any bad songs - Van Halen, II, Fair Warning, Women & Children First, Diver Down and 1984 - they were just great albums. I think for a long time I sort of lumped them in with hair metal, and kind of decided that I wasn't into them anymore. Well, listening to them over the past few weeks has made me realize what a great band they were.

The show was a lot of fun. I bet any singer of any Van Halen tribute band probably sings better than Dave - but they wouldn't be better than Dave. What I mean is, his charisma and stage presence is so undeniable, and is such a huge part of the band's vibe. So what if he couldn't hit all the notes. The show was really satisfying. Unlike The Police, they weren't trying to stretch the old songs out, or show how they've grown, or whatever. I'm a bigger fan of The Police, but I think Van Halen's show was much better.

What surprised me most was the vibe between Dave and Eddie Van Halen. They seemed to be loving playing together again: it was almost like they were wondering, "Why did we ever break up? What the hell were we fighting about anyway?" That rapport definitely took the show to the next level.

I don't think any fan was happy with the way things went down with Michael Anthony: Ed essentially kicked him out of the band, and replaced him with his 16 year old son, Wolfgang Van Halen. Michael was there from day one, and Ed's rationale for ditching him was that Michael was playing with Sammy Hagar's band. I think there's no doubt that Michael would have dropped everything to do a VH tour, and Sammy has said he would have had no problem with that. Sammy has even said that Eddie was trying to boot Michael since their Van Hagar reunion tour a few years back. The only positive thing about it was that Eddie was totally enjoying playing with his son, and the 16 year old kid really rose to the occasion.

My only complaint was during the synth-heavy 1984 songs "Jump" and "I'll Wait," Eddie didn't play keyboards - yet you could hear keyboards. Either they had someone playing backstage (which is corny) or they were playing to canned backing tracks (also corny). I know that there were canned backing vocals (Ed and Wolfgang sang backing vocals, but it was obvious that they were singing with recorded backing vocals - The Police did the same thing, by the way), I was OK with that, sort of. But they keyboard thing bugged me a bit. Also, Ed's guitar solo and Alex Van Halen's drum solos were both too long.

Anyway, great show, and I hear they're extending the tour. I don't know if I'll go again (I imagine it would be the exact same show as I saw this week - they didn't leave out many songs), but I'm glad that I saw it at least once.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

A GOOD TIME TO BE A DYLAN FAN

A lot of cool Bob Dylan stuff going on lately.

1 - The 3-CD compilation, Dylan. Not many artists can have a 3 CD "best-of" which still has tons of omissions. The best starting point for people who want to know what the big deal is (and it makes The Essential Bob Dylan obsolete).

2 - Mark Ronson's remix of "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)." It's the first time Dylan has let anyone remix his music. Ronson is the guy who produces Amy Winehouse - yes, she has a great voice, but his production is why the records have that awesome vintage sound. As he did on her album, on this remix, he uses The Dap-Kings, who really have that vintage soul sound (their main gig, if not their best paying one, is as Sharon Jones' backing band).

3 - The upcoming film, I'm Not There, a biopic starring a number of different actors, including Christian Bale, Richard Gere and even Cate Blanchett as Dylan. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

4 - The I'm Not There soundtrack. It has a big indie-rock slant, which is cool: Dylan's music should be as welcome towards the margins as it is in the middle of the page. Still, it's weird to hear Pavement's Stephen Malkmus - a guy who isn't the most passionate singer I've ever heard - warbling though venomous songs like "Maggie's Farm" and "Ballad Of A Thin Man." It's like weird karoke. Eddie Vedder doing "All Along The Watchtower" is a bit obvious... so much so, I'm surprised he did it. But I hope he brings that one back to Pearl Jam. A big highlight is Mark Lanegan doing "Man In The Long Black Coat." I guess that one is a bit obvious too, but man, he nailed it. Calexico is an indie group that I've been impressed with. I liked the song that they did with Roger McGuinn, "One More Cup Of Coffee," but their best contribution on the album was backing Willie Nelson on "Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)." I really liked the album that Willie did with Ryan Adams last year - I'd love to see what he would do with Calexico. Some other highlights: Cat Power's "Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" (which suprised me, as I've never been knocked out by her, I think she's using Al Green's band on this one) ; John Doe's "Pressing On" (I'd never heard the song before), The Hold Steady's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window," and The Black Keys' "Wicked Messenger." And Dylan's "I'm Not There," which I'd never heard before.

5 - Perhaps most exciting was the project that seemed to get the least amont of hype: a new DVD, The Other Side Of The Mirror: Live At The Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965. It's all footage of Dylan's performances at the legendary folk fest, both on the "main stage" (don't know if they called it that back then) and also at "workshops." You've read it before: the evolution that the guy went through in three years is pretty incredible, as is the way people reacted to him. The set he does in '65 with a rock band is as punk as anything I've ever seen. People are just booing him. I can't imagine what an artist like that could possibly do in 2007 to upset their fans that much.

I'd love to add a "#6" to this list - hopefully Bob is working on new music. Last year's Modern Times was my favorite album of the year. On the other hand, if that's his final album, it's a great "last word." And there's lots of archival material out there. I'd love to hear some live recordings from the '90s: I went to lots of shows in the '90s, and despite the bad rap Bob had for his shows, the ones I saw were pretty incredble.

BLIND FAITH REDUX?

I think it's pretty cool that Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood are going to be doing some concerts together: my understanding is that these aren't co-headlining gigs. Rather, they're going to be playing together.

I think it's been impressive how both of these guys have had enduring careers through the '60s, '70s, '80s and even '90s.

After playing with The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek & The Dominoes, Clapton in the '70s became a middle of the road mellow rocker, which was probably pretty appropriate for where he was at that time in his life. Phil Collins produced some of his '80s albums, which haven't aged well, but they pointed him towards the boomer adult contemporary market that VH1 mined so well at the time. Clapton's commercial peak probably came with 1989's Journeyman. John Mayer once told me that that was the best thing Clapton had ever done. I would disagree, but it was a huge album at the time. He followed it up with the Rush soundtrack, which included "Tears In Heaven," and then the Unplugged album and then his Babyface collab, "Change The World." He hasn't really made any records that I've been excited about since then, although I liked his Robert Johnson tribute albums.

Winwood is sort of easy to overlook, because he has a pretty laid back personality - he doesn't seem to have the charisma of many of his peers, although he has more talent than most of them. Not only is he a great singer and songwriter, he's incredible as a keyboardist and guitarist. Like Clapton, he was in some pretty cool bands: The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, Ginger Baker's Airforce, and Traffic again before going solo. His solo career took off in the '80s, starting with Arc Of A Diver, on which he played every instrument himself. But his biggest album was Back In The High Life. Like Journeyman, it had a load of hits and videos, and seemed to bring him to a more "adult" phase of his career.

Unlike Clapton, Winwood didn't seem to mind the idea of reuniting with old bandmates, and in the mid-'90s he reunited Traffic with drummer/singer Jim Capaldi. I don't know if the album was that great, but I saw their tour, and I thought they were great.

But like Clapton, after a while, Winwood seemed to lose his direction a bit. At some point, VH1 moved on from playing new music from boomer artists, and no radio format would play thier new music anymore. In 2003, Winwood returned with a very Traffic-y album called About Time. I remember seeing him at the Austin City Limits festival that year and being blown away. (I'd seen Winwood do a club show a few years earlier, and wasn't too impressed). He was doing what he wanted, he had a good album of songs to perform, it was cool.

I saw some footage from Clapton and Winwood's set from the Crossroads festival, I thought it looked pretty hot. I may try to get these tickets - of course, they'll probably be out of my price range. But it would be cool to see them. I regreted missing the Cream reunion shows at the Garden a few years back, but I almost think I'd rather see this show than Cream.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

TALK ABOUT THE PASSION!

I wonder if R.E.M. have tarnished their legend by continuing as a band after drummer Bill Berry left. It seems like every time they put something out, people are so quick to point out that they aren't as good as they used to be.

Fair enough - their albums since Bill left aren't as good as the ones that they recorded while he was still in the band. And of course, bands tend to lose a bit of thier magic after ten years or so.

Still, people seem to attack new R.E.M. releases with a particular venom. As if the band betrayed them or something. The fact that they would release their first live album - but that it was recorded on a recent tour, not during the Bill Berry era - probably doesn't help. I think that the album is pretty solid, though, and highlights the fact that some overlooked songs, like "I Took Your Name," "So Fast, So Numb" and "Final Straw" are, in fact, good songs.

I have to admit, I was hoping that Bill Berry would rejoin the band, at least temporarily, after he performed with them at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year (they also recorded John Lennon's "#9 Dream" for the Instant Karma Amnesty International album). I was bummed when I realized that that wasn't going to happen. Still, I hear that their next album is going to be more rocking. I, for one, look forward to hearing it. I'm looking forward to a great R.E.M. album. But if it isn't a five star deal, I won't take it personally.

PRINCE: "NO PHOTOS 4 U!"

OK, I'm sure I'm like the millionth person to come up with that headline. And I'd also like to point out that in the following post, I do not use any images, authorized or otherwise, of The Artist Whom I Am Writing About.

Prince, one of the greatest artists of all time, has proven to be an innovator, not only as an artist, but as a businessman. Selling his albums with concert tickets, bundling his albums with a weekend newspaper, offering fans subscriptions to his music... he's always taken innovative approaches to getting his music to the fans, often bypassing record labels to do so.

Like any other artist who bypasses the major label system these days - including The Eagles, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and Madonna - he would not be in a position to do that without the fanbase that he built through the major label system. I don't think that any of these artists would claim that they would be able to make a living at what they're doing - much less live a very comfortable lifestyle as a result - without the muscle of the major labels. The labels empowered them to cultivate huge fan bases.

It's kind of mind blowing to me that Prince is now suing his fan base: particularly some Prince fan sites that are using his images, lyrics, album covers, etc. True, they may be copyrighted images and lyrics, but these sites are non profit, and anyway, it's 2007. You should be so lucky to have fans who are dedicated to do all that work to create an online shrine to you.

This doesn't - in my opinion - take away from Prince's great music. But still, lighten up dude. You can read more about this at Prince Fans United. And again, at no time were any images of said Artist used in this blog. And if the royal purple lawyer squad is reading this, and you don't want me to use His name - by all means, let me know. I can change it to "The Guy Who Did The Soundtrack of The First Batman Movie," or "The Guy Who Played That Awesome Guitar Solo During 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony A Few Years Ago," or something else like that.

"I HATE THE F@#$IN' EAGLES!"

In The Big Lebowski - one of my favorite movies ever - "The Dude" yells at his cabdriver: "I hate the f#$%in' Eagles!" The Dude was a big Creedence Clearwater Revival fan, but the cab driver took Don, Glenn and co. pretty seriously, and unceremoniously threw The Dude out of the cab.

(I wonder how the guys in the band took that? Joe Walsh has a pretty warped sense of humor, and Don Henley once joined Mojo Nixon onstage for Mojo's classic "Don Henley Must Die," so I guess at least some of the members can laugh at their own expense.)

Anyway, I'm not a huge Eagles fan, but I don't hate them. And I'd like to offer them congratulations: their first new album in 30 years, Long Road Out Of Eden, is the #1 album in the country. The album was sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, and sold over 700,000 copies (well more than what Springsteen's Magic sold in it's first week).

This is cool for a few reasons: one, it clobbered the first week sales of the new album by Britney Spears. I hate to jump in with all the people who rip on her all the time, but she deserves it. She exemplifies America's junk culture. Another cool thing is that, like an increasing amount of older artists (and not-so-old artists, like Trent Reznor and Radiohead) The Eagles have decided to bypass the major label system. I have lots of friends at major labels, and while I think the labels do great work with reissues and box sets and stuff like that, they seem not to be too interested in artists that have been around for a long time.

Finally, Don Henley knew what he was getting into with Wal-Mart - I know he had some conditions about their enviornmental practices, and since they've become a little more "green," he was OK with going into business with them. Which is a good thing.

I like some of Don's solo music, and I usually find myself 100% with him when it comes to politics, whether he's talking about the government or major labels.

So, congratulations, guys. And thanks for keeping Britney out of the #1 spot.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

OPERATION IVY - BACK IN PRINT

Lots of people rip on the punk/ska genre. Whatever. Sure, it was a trend for a second, millions of bands copied it, then became swing bands, then became rap-metal bands, then they were emo and now they're indie.

Anyway, a great record that music fans should dig is the upcoming reissue by Operation Ivy. The band featured Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, who later formed Rancid (another great band in my humble opinion). The record had been on Lookout! Records, a credible indie label... that apparently doesn't always pay it's artists royalties. Green Day 's first two albums were released on that label, but Green Day took them from the catalog when the rights reverted to them... also because of unpaid royalties. You might say, "Well, Green Day, those guys are millionaires - why would they care about royalties from an indie label?" Which is fair. But so is getting paid for the work you've done. In Op Ivy's case, the two non-Rancid guys, Jesse Michaels and Dave Mello, would probably appreciate the money. So, the album is coming out on Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records, distributed by Epitaph.

It's interesting that indie labels, seen as very credible, have ripped off artists as much as major labels have, and sometimes more. For all the complaining Trent Reznor does about Interscope, I know he hates TVT more, because he felt that they really ripped him off.

Back to music: last year, Jesse Michaels joined Rancid on stage for a few Op Ivy songs - man, it would be cool if they reunited.

GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY


There's a new compilation out, called Serve2, which raises money for the charity World Hunger Year. Founded by Harry Chapin, WHY, in a nutshell, raises money to fight poverty and hunger.
This compilation is only available on iTunes and at Hard Rock Cafes. I'm always up to buy a compilation album, even if I don't know all the artists, if it is for a good cause (and if there's at least something I want to hear on it). In this case, it's "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band. There are also tracks by Joss Stone and The Hold Steady, among others. I just got it, I don't have a review - but I just thought I'd call attention to the fact that it's out there.

ANOTHER POST ABOUT THE WHITE STRIPES

I was having a conversation with a friend about my favorite albums of the year, and I mentioned releases by Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and John Fogerty, and he pointed out that I'm a fan of "septuagenarians." True, but it isn't like I only listen to older artists (and of course, Ms. Krauss isn't even 40 yet).
But one of my favorite groups from the past decade or so is The White Stripes. As I mentioned in a prior (brief) posting, I think highly of them. I saw them in concert this summer at Madison Square Garden, and I wasn't blown away (although I really liked them when I saw them at The Hammerstein Ballroom on their Elephant tour a few years back).
The Stripes went through some nonsense a few weeks back. If you're reading this, then you have access to the world wide web, and probably heard about it. Whatever. I'm glad that, even though they cancelled their tour, they have more music coming out. They announced on their web site that "The White Stripes have just filmed an exciting new video and recorded three never before heard original songs (with a special collaboration) and one unique new version of a song from their latest album Icky Thump. "
Icky Thump, by the way, is another one of my favorite albums of year.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

JOE STRUMMER - THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN

I'm looking forward to seeing this documentary - Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. It comes fairly close on the heels of another Strummer doc, Let's Rock Again, although that one documented Strummer's last tour with his band The Mescaleros. My understanding is that The Future is more about his entire life/career, including, of course, The Clash.

I felt really fortunate to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer. I was working at VH1, and it was at the time when they were really moving away from music. My boss at the time saw which way the wind was blowing, so to speak, and while he appreciated my passion for music, he was more worried about ratings, and rightfully so.

I remember seeing the listing for Strummer's multi-night stand in Brooklyn in the Village Voice, and thinking "Man, it would be cool to cover that." And then thinking, "No way." So, I was shocked when the boss asked me to cover one of the shows. it was early 2002. I remember before the interview, shooting b-roll of the huge lights that were shining where the Twin Towers used to be. It was a weird time. It was a few months after 9/11, but right across the river from where the attacks happened, there was still a somber vibe in the air.

Anyway, Joe Strummer was one of the few artists who I had to admit I felt a bit intimidated by. You just always got the sense that he didn't suffer fools lightly. But my attitude as an interviewer was, if anyone can do this, I can. Anyway, Joe was really, really cool. Kind of humble in a way. Super passionate about music, not really jaded at all. He loved The Mescaleros. He felt people generally weren't as passionate about music as they used to be: he asked why people weren't rioting over artists like Kylie Minogue, ;e just felt that most "pop" music was so awful. I remember asking him about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - the word was they were going to be on the ballot that year, and of course they were going to get voted in. He kind of scoffed at the idea of performing with them, or even showing up. He didn't want to wear a suit, he felt it was a betrayal of everything he and the band stood for to show up at the Waldorf, of all places, in a tux. I told him that not everyone wears tuxes, and that no one would tell him what to wear (not that I was in any position to tell him what the Rock Hall does and doesn't do - but I'd been to a few induction ceremonies, and not everyone wears suits or tuxes). I also pointed out that Talking Heads reunited for a few songs at their induction, and it sort of served as a nice "last page" in the band's story. Then, he started being like, "Hmmmmm..." But then he got a bit annoyed on the topic of the band: he pointed out that he's been working with his current band for the past couple of years, and the other guys weren't even making music (not totally true: Mick Jones produced The Libertines, but hadn't recorded any of his own music). But none of those guys had called him and asked him to make music with them, which seemed to annoy him.

I remember my camera guy was also a huge Clash fan. We walked out of there dazed and amazed. I felt like Joe Strummer was radiating electricity, and now some of it was on me. I had goosebumps. So, we start shooting the show, which was great. Some of Joe's songs, like "Tony Adams" and "Johnny Appleseed," stood proudly alongside The Clash classics - it's a shame that more people weren't familiar with his solo material, he worked so hard on it, and was rightfully proud of it. But what radio stations would play Joe Strummer's solo material in 2001?  That's part of what the Let's Rock Again documentary is about.

The most shocking moment of the night was seeing this guy in the audience. I thouht to myself, "Is that Mick Jones?" I mean, in the audience. Not in some roped off V.I.P. area, he was just walking around. It was him. Not a lot of people seemed to notice. I figured, I should probably try to get a quote out of him. But I made what I felt was a more moral choice. I didn't think the guy wanted a camera in his face, it would certainly blow his cover. I decided against it.

After the show, people did start to notice that it was him and crowded around him. He made a beeline for the backstage door. I felt like, "That's nice, maybe he'll hang out with Joe." I could potentially have ruined that. It turned out that they hung out for a little while. A few months later, Mick joined Joe and the band at a fundraiser concert in England. It was one of Joe Strummer's last performances.

A few weeks later, Joe Strummer passed away unexpectedly. I think by then, he had heard the news that The Clash would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the induction ceremony was still a few weeks away. I'd heard that Joe and Mick wanted to perform, but Paul Simonon didn't want to. The week of the ceremony, I got to interview Mick and Paul. I told Mick my story. He looked at me and nodded slightly. Not being a sentimental seeming guy, I think he apprecitated what I'd done (or didn't do).

I've heard that The Grammys are holding a vote on the best moments in Grammy history. I don't think that you can beat the Joe Strummer tribute. Most Grammy tributes fall short. There's too many people paying tribute, not enough time, it ends up being a medley, etc. But when Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Elvis Costello and Dave Grohl (with Tony Kanal of No Doubt on bass and Pete Thomas from Elvis' Attractions and Imposters on drums) performed "London Calling"... I just don't think you can beat that one. I've often referred to it as "the best four minutes in TV history," which may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was pretty damn cool, and a fitting tribute.

THE VERY BEST OF MICK JAGGER (seriously...)



Here's a few things that should never go on an album with the words "very best of" in the title:

1. If a song features Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend and Bono, and it's still awful, it doesn't belong on a "best of." Sorry, "Joy" should never have made the cut.

2. Some unreleased songs should stay unreleased. Others fit on rarities collections. The remix of the previously unreleased "Charmed Life" certainly falls into one of those two categories.

3. Mick Jagger's "Let's Work" does not belong on any "best of" collection. I've been trying to forget about that one ever since I heard it. It's been nearly two decades, it still makes me wince.

OK, I'm being a bit too snarky. Someone told me that I gotta do it on occasion, or I lose my blog union card.

But really, a few clunkers aside, The Very Best Of Mick Jagger has some incredble moments. There's a few tracks from his 1993 Rick Rubin-produced album, Wandering Spirit , an album that I love (and the only solo Mick album I would really recommend owning). Mick's duet with the late, great Peter Tosh on "(You Got To Walk And) Don't Look Back" (a Tempations cover) is worth the price of admission. Ditto for 1970's "Memo From Turner," which he actually co-wrote with Keith Richards: the song was from the film Performance, which Mick starred in. A collaboration with L.A. blues band The Red Devils from the Wandering Spirit sessions, a cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Checkin' Up On My Baby" makes a great argument for releasing all of the Jagger/Red Devils sessions. The real gem, of course, is 1973's "Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)," was produced by John Lennon and featured ex-Cream guy Jack Bruce on bass.

Like Paul McCartney, Mick ends up looking like the second coolest guy in his band, partially he actually has decent business sense (often seen as "uncool" in rock and roll), and partially because of his naff solo albums (which is his own fault). With a few really bad missteps, this compilation makes a great case that Mick can create cool music without the Stones.

And like Sir Paul, I doubt that Mick loses much sleep over this anyway. But if you're reading this, Mick, sorry to be snarky at your expense. But I don't want to lose my licence to blog. And don't worry, I'm working on a post about the new Rolling Stones DVD box set. Which will be totally positive.

MY KIND OF REVIVAL (part 2)

I've said it before: John Fogerty is one of the greats. And he's still great. His new album, Revival, is one of the best things I've heard all year, and might be the best thing he's done since Creedence Clearwater Revival. I am a fan of his Blue Moon Swamp and Centerfield albums, but I think this one is better, and will really hold up as his best post-CCR work.

I wrote about the first single, "Don't You Wish It Was True," before the album came out, but now that I've lived with the album, I can certainly say that the whole thing is great. "Creedence Song" is a great statement, saying that he has finally made peace with his past. "River Is Wide" is different than anything he's ever done, it's a gorgeous song. "Long Dark Night" and "I Can't Take It No More" are great protest songs in the vein of "Fortunate Son" and "Deja Vu (All Over Again)." Some people feel that rock stars should "shut up and sing," to quote The Dixie Chicks. Personally, Fogerty's protest songs make me even more proud to be a fan. (Plus, John has a fairly conservative fan base: I really think he's putting himself out there by criticizing the president in a song.) "Broken Down Cowboy" is great too. The only one I don't dig is "Summer Of Love": we know, the summer of love was great. Thing is, I thought John wasn't into the whole hippie scene anyway. I think that stuff is best left to Crosby, Stills & Nash.

There's been a bit of noise on the web about clear channel not playing certain new records, notably Bruce Springsteen's Magic as well as Revival, and the insinuation has been that it's politically motivated, as clear channel is a very pro-bush conservative company. I think the truth of the matter is a bit different: it's not politically motivated, it's cut-and-dried ageism. Bruce is 58, Fogerty I think is 62, cc doesn't think that anyone wants to hear their new music. I think it's just more of a dumb/timid-radio mentality thing than an evil republican thing.

Anyway, last night I got to see opening night of Fogerty's tour at NY's Hammerstein Ballroom. Pretty amazing. It started off a bit weird. Doors were supposed to be at 7:30, they didn't let people in until almost 9, even though you could hear John and the band rocking from outside. Apparently it was a last rehearsal/show for friends and family. That was weird. Then, before he went on, they played a bunch of Fogerty songs on the PA. You don't usually hear that. Then, John entered the stage via a hydraulic lift from below, on a background that created the effect of his album cover: John's silouette against an orange sky. He doesn't usually do that kind of production thing. The beginning of the show was a bit rough for me: the floor of the Hammerstein Ballroom is awful if you're not tall, and they totally oversold tickets. If you're on the floor, you really can't see, and if you move back by the bar, the ceiling is lower, so it messes up the sound. it was a few songs before my friend and I found a spot where we could see and hear.

Anyway, it was a great show. John's band, anchored by the awesome drummer Kenny Aaronoff, did the material proud - and then some. John sounded amazing, and played some songs that I'd never seen him do, including "Bootleg" and one of my favorites, "Ramble Tamble." I was surprised that, before "Creedence Song," he talked a bit about the band - he famously hates his former bandmates, and couldn't even make peace with his brother Tom (CCR's other guitarist) on his deathbed. But last night, he discussed how, these days, he only thinks about the good times. That's a big change for him. He is such a talented musician, and seems to be a great guy (I've had really cool experiences interviewing him), it's good to see him leave his anger in the past. Maybe he's also realized that bush is worse than all the ex-bandmates in the world combined. I'm glad he's moved on to a positive space in his life. Anyway, I highly recommend the album, and if you're a fan, you should definitely see this tour.

Funny moment from the show: watching Paul Schaeffer (in a private balcony box) playing air guitar to one of the songs).