Here's a review I just wrote of the latest compendium (there are many) of the work of Jason Ringenberg, who has labored mightily to show there's life after his beloved hard-rocking Scorchers (They came up with what is to my mind the best goddamed Bob Dylan cover ever with their take on "Absolutely Sweet Marie").
I once met Jason and his guitar player Warner Hodges, a great thrill. They were really nice guys and indulged me as I asked them about rare songs they played in concerts I had seen. Anyway, give Jason the benefit of the doubt. In a better world, he'd have a much bigger career
Showing posts with label Jason and the Scorchers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason and the Scorchers. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Everything Old Is New Again
When Robert Plant sampled bits of old Led Zep hits for his 1990 hit "Tall Cool One," it seemed like a novel way to burnish music from the past to help inform songs in the present. But it also seemed like a bit of a gimmick.
Now it sounds like everyone's jumping on this train - and riding it a lot further (some rap artists and Beck are excused from this diatribe)
Does anyone except for me remember Steve Forbert's 1979 hit "Romeo's Tune"? It was a youthful take on being in love. Now Forbert's put a new, stripped down version on his latest album, and it sounds like something completely different - a lot of the wonder and joy is gone, but age'll do that to you, I suspect. Meanwhile, Steve Earle quotes his old hit "Guitar Town" in his new song, "Tennessee Blues." You've got Joni Mitchell offering up a new version of "Big Yellow Taxi" on her new Starbucks album and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters quoting from his old work on "Hello (I Love You)," a song he contributed to a recent movie soundtrack.
So I guess the question is whether the new versions of the songs offer up some new insight or angle that the orignals did not - just like a good cover version can make you hear a song in an entirely different light (a la Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" or Jason & The Scorchers' version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" - great song, horrible video). Or is it a sign of something worse - that all the good songs and ideas are gone, and everyone is left to cobble together stuff from when they were more prolific and had more to say?
Now it sounds like everyone's jumping on this train - and riding it a lot further (some rap artists and Beck are excused from this diatribe)
Does anyone except for me remember Steve Forbert's 1979 hit "Romeo's Tune"? It was a youthful take on being in love. Now Forbert's put a new, stripped down version on his latest album, and it sounds like something completely different - a lot of the wonder and joy is gone, but age'll do that to you, I suspect. Meanwhile, Steve Earle quotes his old hit "Guitar Town" in his new song, "Tennessee Blues." You've got Joni Mitchell offering up a new version of "Big Yellow Taxi" on her new Starbucks album and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters quoting from his old work on "Hello (I Love You)," a song he contributed to a recent movie soundtrack.
So I guess the question is whether the new versions of the songs offer up some new insight or angle that the orignals did not - just like a good cover version can make you hear a song in an entirely different light (a la Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" or Jason & The Scorchers' version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" - great song, horrible video). Or is it a sign of something worse - that all the good songs and ideas are gone, and everyone is left to cobble together stuff from when they were more prolific and had more to say?
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