Robert Randolph "Born Again"

I hate to play this game with songs I actually like, but "Let Me Ruin This Song For You."

Jump to the bottom and remind yourself of Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With."  Then listen to the new Robert Randolph song.

Do they actually sound the same at the chorus?  Or is it just that the rhythm of Randolph's phrasing is just like Stills' phrasing?


Hear Robert Randolph on Youtube.


Hear Stephen Stills on Youtube.

The Slide Brothers "Praise You"

I had The Slide Brothers CD in my hand and my eyes ran past the title "Praise You" without thinking too much about it.

Knowing that these veteran Slide and Pedal players came out of the Church and Gospel scene, it wasn't surprising to see a title like that.

But as I was scanning through the liner notes, I caught the name Norman Cook.

Norman Cook?  Fatboy Slim?!  THAT "Praise You"?

It's not so unusual for a song from one genre to migrate to another genre.

In fact, it's extremely common for a song to be refashioned for the dance floor.

It's not too often that songs flow in the other direction.  Off the dance floor and into another genre.

Oh sure, I suppose there's the Youtube thing, of taking song like "Crazy" or "Hey Ya" and stripping it down to an acoustic, singer-songwriter thing.

But converting a dance song into a Gospel (Rock) tune is a pretty interesting direction to take something.

And it sounds F-N great!


Hear The Slide Brothers on Youtube.


Hear Fatboy Slim on Youtube.

Alabama Shakes "I Ain't The Same"

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Alabama Shakes at this weekend's Newport Folk Festival.

That's based largely on the rave reviews of anyone I know who has seen them.

And it's partially based on the record.

Barbara asked me my thoughts on the record, and I had a surprisingly thorough answer.  I hadn't even realized I had formulated a coherent thought.

"Wait for their 3rd record," was my answer.  "The 3rd record is where they'll really hit it."

I like "Boys And Girls."  I think there are plenty of strong songs on there.  I seems to be a really great first record.  But I don't think they've hit their full potential yet.  Based on what I know of their live show, they are soooo much more than what is on that record.

They're not going to get it on record #2, most likely.

One year ago, they were playing little clubs.  But the buzz has been so fast and so fierce, that they're playing on National TV and at major festivals and have jumped to a level of success that must be mind-boggling to them.

So the second record is likely to be either a) a product of frenzy, or b) a product of too many meddlesome outsiders.

I think of Robert Randolph And The Family Band.

Their first record (I'm not counting the live EP), "Unclassified" only scratched the surface of the amazing dynamic of their live show.  But it catapulted them onto some very large stages.

The 2nd record . . . "Colorblind" was very popular (and, in doing research for this entry, seems to have received mostly positive-to-glowing reviews), but something about it rang false for me.  It was full of co-writers and guest stars and smacked of producer-intervention.

It was the third record where I felt like I was really hearing the band that I had seen in concert.

Some of the credit, no doubt, comes from the band learning how to make records.  And some of the credit, for sure, goes to T Bone Burnett, who seems to make records by removing all the extraneous BS, to leave only the most organic, natural beauty of the talent.

So hopefully, Alabama Shakes can take some of what they have (like the Stonesy-"Emotional Rescue" feel of I Ain't The Same), and pair it with the Road Dog/Veteran status they will acquire, and bring it to a producer who can get their record closer to the electricity of the live performances.

It's likely that T Bone Burnett's Bat-phone is already ringing.

Robert Randolph "If I Had My Way"

I cast a critical eye on the new Robert Randolph record.

I had seen him open for Susan Tedeschi many years back, and was completely blown away by his abilities on the sacred steel. His incendiary live performance had but one weak spot that night---some pretty sketchy vocals by the band.

Studio recordings have a way of making a forgivable live weakness, a real obstacle toward success.

Their first major label record was a modest accomplishment. It certainly didn't fully capture what this band could do, but it did ring of promise. I had high hopes for the second record.

Maybe they were too high. Or maybe the record was exactly what I thought it was--a shattershot attempt to try to gloss over the weakness, with a gaggle of ringer talent brought on board to co-write songs, commercialize the production and draw attention with celebrity guest shots.

It may have had some commercial success, but I thought it was a complete mess.

So where were they gonna go from here?

Well, good thought to hire T Bone Burnett as a producer. I can't think of a man out there who can bring more authentic earth and roots to a commercially viable album.

But the first single arrived and I thought . . . a cover tune huh? Of an old gospel song? Okay, so no attempts to write songs that they could sing and be convincing on?

A friend of mine pointed out what a great idea it was to pull out this song as a cover in 2010---It was a great idea Patty Griffin did it this winter on her album "Downtown Church."

I listened to it and I liked it but I had all these negative, critical things to say about it.

And then I stopped being a critic. I stopped thinking about what it should be and what I wanted it to be and what it could someday be. And I enjoyed it.

Sometimes you've got to let the critic take a break, because otherwise, he sucks the fun out of listening to music.