Trios / Instrumentals: California Guitar Trio

California Guitar Trio: The Marsh

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Forged in the aftermath of a chance meeting at King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp's famous zen-influenced Guitar Craft courses in the late eighties, the California Guitar Trio - comprised of three master musicians from Brussels, Utah, and Tokyo - plays technically challenging yet fluid instrumentals that teeter at the intersection of classical, jazz, surf, rock, world music, bluegrass, and anything else they can get their talented hands on.

This original piece, the lead track from 2004 release Whitewater, is a personal favorite: crisp enough for a movie soundtrack, mellow enough to compliment or even stand in for a soothing massage or a quick recharging dip in the hot tub.

Trios: The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio: Charlie on the MTA

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I call it pop-folk. In the 1950s, a number of groups arise who played and sang traditional songs on acoustic instruments, but were not folk artists, exactly. These groups had carefully developed stage routines, and there performances were scrubbed clean of any roughness. Often they cultivated a clean-cut image by appearing in matching outfits. All of this applied to The Kingston Trio, but they also showed how much could be done within this set of limitations. Charlie on the MTA is a fine example. This is a protest song, but not one that would provoke much controversy. The song concerns a transit fare increase in Boston, and it uses humor to make its point. The Kingston Trio's reputation for using humor in their act actually helps put this one over, and the limitations of the pop-folk form become a strength. By putting over their objections to a fare increase in the most non-threatening manner, The Kingston Trio assured that their protest would reach the widest possible audience.

Trios: Ebba Grön

Ebba Grön: Schweden Schweden

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I don't think there's a single Swedish youth who didn't in one way or another grow up listening to Ebba Grön. I was certainly one of them. I shudder at the thought of what a terrible taste in music I would've had today if I hadn't discovered them in 1992 at the tender age of 11.

Inspired by the likes of The Clash, Eater and The Sex Pistols, they formed in the outskirts of Stockholm in 1977 by members of bands such as Urin and Pink Champagne, and soon became one of the most reputable bands in the country. They left behind three albums and a string of singles before parting ways in 1983 after their bassist Lennart "Fjodor" Eriksson (the one with the mohawk) got sent to prison for refusing to do his mandatory military service. Ironically, one of the band's songs, Totalvägra, was about written to inspire young people to refuse do their military service. At least the band practiced what they preached.

Singer, guitarist and frontman Joakim Thåström (the one in the middle) continued his career in bands like Imperiet, Peace Love & Pitbulls and Sällskapet and is today the biggest and most respected male artist in Sweden. Not to pimp my own blog or anything, but according to my humble little countdown he made the 10th best album of 2009.

Eriksson and drummer Gustav "Gurra" Ljungstedt however have both faded into obscurity.

But despite the band being inactive for 27 years (they've consistently refused to reunite no matter how many millions they're offered) their reputation lives ever on and on - various box sets and compilations have been released since the band's break-up and they've all rocketed to the top of the charts.

Trios: Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney: Little Babies

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Sleater-Kinney started as Carrie Brownstein's and Corin Tucker's side project as they were both in other bands at the time (Excuse 17 and Heavens to Betsy). Slowly Sleater-Kinney became their main focus but they didn't have a consistent drummer until they introduced Janet Weiss into the equation. The three Pacific-Northwest natives were a good fit and went on to make the rest of their catalog together.

They were one of the bigger names to come out of the Riot Grrl scene and one that was able to stay popular and current with the changing music scene. Their last album The Woods, was critically acclaimed and left people shocked when they went on hiatus on such a high note.

They made seven full-length albums in total before going on indefinite hiatus in 2006, but there's talks of reunions and side project albums in the meantime. Carrie has dabbled in other artist endeavors like acting and producing video, Janet has focused on her other band, Quasi, and Corin has focused her attentions on being a mother, though she's also been in the studio.

Trios: Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr.: Raisans

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Power trio Dinosaur Jr. recorded and released sophomore album You're Living All Over Me in '87, and like the early work of several other similar late eighties Boston-based grunge trios - Blake Babies, Sebadoh and The Lemonheads among them - the album became a seminal part of my musical development as I was moved from public school to private school in the middle of my high school years. The vomitous, psychedelic cover, with its double-skull faces turned away from the viewer, was an apt reflection of my inner turmoil at the time; twenty years later, the transformed and transformative pre-emo, post-punk feedback-heavy sound which filled my headphones and friends' smoky bedrooms still brings me back to adolescence in a single chord.

Listen loud - this stuff is meant to overwhelm the senses, prime for wallowing in teenage malaise, or merely reliving it.

Trios: Bill Evans Trio

Bill Evans Trio: All of You

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Despite being one of the most influential pianists of the last 50 years, Bill Evans democratized the piano trio. Instead of making it a piano showcase, he saw the rhythm section as equal musical partners.

On June 25, 1961, Evans brought his trio--Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums--to the now legendary Village Vanguard in New York for a full day (and night) of shows, five sets in all. The shows were recorded for a pair of influential albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debbie (later expanded, appropriately, to a trio with More from the Vanguard). But the way to get them is to go for the whole package, The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (and that's what the "purchase" link will take you to).

Sadly, Scott LaFaro died in a car crash less than two weeks after these recordings were made, so they stand as the final statement of this legendary trio.

Trios: Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross

Lambert Hendricks and Ross: A Night in Tunisia

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So, am I cheating by including this one for our Trios theme? Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross were not together long, but they left a body of work that established them as one of the great jazz vocal trios. As will be heard on this track, they were usually accompanied by a band of jazz instrumentalists, so you hear the work of three singers, but a total of about seven or eight musicians. Susan avoided this problem with The Roches by posting an a capella track. My own opinion is that vocal trios in various musical genres have made great contributions to music, and deserve to be honored this week. I can think of only three covers that Joni Mitchell has done in her career, and two were covers of Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, (Twisted and Centerpiece, if you were wondering). And A Night in Tunisia shows off their talent beautifully. The song is originally by Dizzy Gillespie, and someone else wrote the lyrics. But Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross deliver the definitive vocal version of the song. After all, there aren’t that many people who can sing it at all!

Trios: Blake Babies

Blake Babies: Rain

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The Blake Babies are Juliana Hatfield, John Strohm and Freda Love. They met while all were attending college in Boston in 1986. The story is this: Juliana painfully shy but desperate to play music and find kindred spirits; Freda, outgoing, loved by many follows Juliana to her dorm one day after seeing her walking through campus all the time with her guitar...asks her to come jam with her and a friend some time. At the tme Juliana had never played an electric guitar let alone a bass, but a bass player is what they need, so she borrows John's and learns and becomes their main vocalist and bassist. Shortly there after they go to a talk by poet Allen Ginsberg and in the questions and answer part they ask him to name their band, he suggests "Blake Babies", inspired by William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience". The name seems fitting and sticks, a band is born.

They got a lot of great reviews and garnered a following in that late 80s and early 90s college scene. Soon after Juliana went solo and did even better. In 2001 they got back together for a reunion album, and Juliana and Freda have had a side band (Some Girls) that's been off and on for a while as well. They remain friends but now live in different parts of the country, the rest is history.

Their music is folk-tinged rock, Juliana's innocent sounding voice is even more so in her early days when she was even more shy, but the music is charming.

Trios: Pugh & Friends

Pugh Rogefeldt: Här Kommer Natten

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In 1969, Torbjörn "Pugh" Rogefeldt was recording his debut album Ja, Dä Ä Dä with two giants in the Swedish psych rock scene: drummer Jan Carlsson (far left in that pic) from renowned drums & organ duo Hansson & Carlsson, one of Jimi Hendrix's favorite bands. Georg Wadenius (the one in the middle) from jazz rockers Made In Sweden, later of Blood Sweat & Tears, handled bass and electric guitar.

Pugh was only 21 when this album was cut, and you can tell from the youthful energy and playfulness that shimmers all over the whole recording, even the mellow songs.

It was rather unusual for Swedish performers to sing in their own language in 1969, and it definitely set a trend. Ja, Dä Ä Dä made it fashionable to sing in Swedish, and before you knew it you had to sing in Swedish or the huge progg movement (which should not be confused with prog) deemed you a corporate whore, America lover, a capitalist and a sellout.

Pugh made two more album in a similar style before leaving the psychedelic world for more mainstream rock that wasn't very interesting. Ja, Dä Ä Dä is perhaps the best album ever recorded in Sweden, certainly the best album ever recorded in Swedish. A whimsical, psychedelic masterpiece!

Trios: Speed, Glue & Shinki

Speed, Glue & Shinki: Stoned Out Of My Mind

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I´ve been a huge fan of that stripped-down, transparent power trio sound as long as I can remember, so this week´s theme really got my juices flowing. Lots of obvious choices immediately came to mind, but in the end I decided to settle for something just a tad more obscure.

Enter the hard rockin´ free-blues of Speed, Glue & Shinki. These Tokyo-based stoners made two rip-roaring albums in the early seventies, which ended up as (shared) number 1 and number 15 in Julian ´Japrocksampler´ Cope´s top 50 of Japanese sixties and seventies rock. Totally deserved, as the triumvirate of Masayoshi Kabe on bass, Philippines-born Joey ´Pepe´ Smith on drums and snotty vocals, and the amazing Shinki Chen on guitar put many a Western counterpart to shame. Banzai!

Trios: Ben Folds Five

Ben Folds Five: Philosophy

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Ben Folds Five? Wait... I thought this was supposed to be "Trios Week."

Don't worry, I'm not breaking the rules. Ben Folds five was a trio out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina led by the eponymous Ben Folds on piano. The band also featured Robert Sledge on bass and Darren Jessee on drums. Notice the absence of a lead guitar (or any guitar) in that line-up.

As for the name... they chose it simply because of its alliterative aspects and because "Ben Folds Five" sounded better than "Ben Folds Three." It was just another idiosyncrasy from this, often quirky, group that released three amazing piano pop records in the 1990's before disbanding at the end of the decade.

This song comes from their self-titled 1995 debut album and does a great job of showcasing the template of their sound. Ben is up front with vocals and piano. Robert's bass is fuzzed out in places and combines with Darren's drumming to provide the power of the track. Robert and Darren can also always be relied upon to provide ready harmonies to augment the sound.

Trios: Cream

Cream: Strange Brew

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For me, our Trios week must begin with Cream. I’ll explain.

I am the youngest of three brothers. My oldest brother was the perfect age to be aware of the “hippest” music that was coming out in the 1960s, and to build his record collection accordingly. He would sneer at the music that dominated the charts and AM radio, and bring home the music the hippies were listening to. One day, that meant the band Cream. As always, he would gather his younger brothers, and take us into his room, (it was the only time we were allowed in!) He would then put his newest acquisition on the record player, and we would listen. The day he first brought Cream home, we got to the end of the first side, and he exclaimed, “And can you believe that’s just three musicians?” These days, I can describe how Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker filled the space that a second guitarist would have occupied, but back then I could only marvel. I still do.

Trios: The Roches

The Roches: The Anti-Sex Backlash of the 80's

[purchase] - this CD is out of stock on their website so I'm providing the Amazon.com link

I have shared this trio of sisters before - at this point, it was just a matter of which song to choose...

After much pondering between mellow or upbeat, pulling their full catalog of CDs from my shelves and perusing tracklists until my eyes lost focus... I finally decided on this tune which, in my opinion, completely captures their wacky view of life... as well as showcases their amazing harmonies, even when they *intend* (and they do) to sing off-key - plus, frankly, I can't imagine this song ever fitting into any of our upcoming themes!

I'm still saving Mr. Sellack for Waitress Week, Cloud Dancing for Songs Based on Poems Week... and their version of The Hallelujah Chorus for A Cappella Week - are you listening, BH?... :-)

Jail: He’s in the Jailhouse Now

Whistler’s Jug Band, date unknown

Blind Blake: He‘s in the Jailhouse Now

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On February 15, 1928, Jimmie Rodgers went into the studio and recorded In the Jailhouse Now. The song became a country classic. Webb Pierce would later take the song to #1, and Johnny Cash also recorded it, among many others. For a tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, the song was recorded by Steve Earle.

All of which is fine, but there’s one little problem. Jimmie Rodgers didn’t write the song, and he wasn’t the first to record it. The earliest known recording, from 1924, was by Whistler‘s Jug Band, under the title Jail House Blues. This is the version of the song that Blind Blake recorded in 1927, as He’s in the Jailhouse Now. Notice that Blake’s version also preceded Jimmie Rodgers. Now Rodgers was a great artist, but this was another case, so common in those days, of white businessmen ripping off black artists. I don’t know if the song was brought to Rodgers by his handlers, or if he knew its origin, so I don’t hold him to blame. But I am glad for this chance to set the record straight. And what became of the first man who decided to rip off a black artist without giving credit? I hope the title of this post says it all.

Jail: I Shall Be Released

Jerry Garcia Band: I Shall Be Released

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I could get lost in this song. The mournful vocals, the defiant lyrics, the curly-cues of cascading notes emanating from Jerry Garcia's guitar on both of his lengthy solos. It all works for me. Many have tackled this song, and some have excelled, but this version, this is the one for me.

As for the song itself, what can one say? It is one of Dylan's simplest, yet more effective songs. Three short verses, and not a wasted word. Nominally about a wrongfully imprisoned man, but thanks to covers by the likes of Joan Baez and others, it almost immediately became a metaphor for any and all injustice and repression. It is perhaps his most powerful song.

Jail: For My Lover

Tracy Chapman: For My Lover

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There are many songs which make extravagant, even obsessive, declarations of love. Tracy Chapman’s For My Lover is the only one I know of where the singer is willing to go to jail for him. In a 1988 interview in Rolling Stone, Chapman made a connection between this song and Mountains of Things. She explained it this way:

One thing that really concerns me is a sense of balance. You know, when you’re talking about material things, it’s where those things fit into your life. Then, with relationships, too, how do you position yourself in relation to other people ? It’s a fine line sometimes, trying to hold on to yourself and your own identity and either being lured into having other people define them for you or having the things around you define them for you.

Jail: Blue Wing

Tracy Grammer: Blue Wing

[purchase] - scroll down to Book of Sparrows EP

One of the things I appreciate about the acoustic folk genre is that some of my favorite artists also choose a few cover songs to sprinkle into their repertoire... and they're usually obscure gems - I have fallen in love with many a song, only to discover it's not an original... and then go happily in search of yet another new songwriter to collect and enjoy their catalog...

After Dave Carter died, Tracy Grammer put out a few CDs of his unreleased material... and then set about recording stunning tunes by some of her contemporaries - her version of Tom Russell's Blue Wing is gorgeous and haunting, and the tattoo becomes a metaphor for freedom, despite prison bars...

Jail: Attica Blues

Archie Shepp: Attica Blues

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"If I had the chance to make the decisions, every man could walk this earth on equal conditions..."

On September 9, 1971, inmates of the Attica Corrections Facility in New York State rose up in response to the death of George Jackson, the famous Black Panther radical who had recently been fatally shot by correction officers while trying to escape from San Quentin. The prisoners of Attica demanded better living conditions - one shower a week and one roll of toilet paper a month anyone? - in their overcrowded jail, where all the wardens were white and the majority of the inmates either black or Puerto Rican.

After four days of negotiations, state police took back control of Attica prison under order of then Governor Nelson Rockefeller, which resulted in the deaths of nine hostages and twenty-eight inmates. The New York State Special Commission on Attica would later state that ´with the exception of Indian massacres in the late 19th century, the state police assault which ended the four-day prison uprising was the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War´.

In outraged response, free jazz giant Archie Shepp wrote the steaming Attica Blues, which remains an amazing piece of music long after the smoke of the prison riot has lifted. Do check this one out even if you´re not really into jazz or the avant-garde, as Attica Blues has more in common with the hard-hitting funk and soul of Sly & The Family Stone or Funkadelic than one would expect from a jazz cat.

Retrospective: The Aristocrats

Neil Young: Old King
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Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate: Queen Bee
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The Kinks: She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina
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Stevie Wonder: Sir Duke
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I've mentioned numerous times here that I used to have an weekly web radio show, FiL With Sound. I played a mix of old and new music, and was fond of themed sets (and sometimes themed shows.) It ran for two years, and somewhere in the middle of it, I discovered Star Maker Machine.

I occasionally played songs on the show that I found on SMM, and it helped give the appearance that I had a bigger, more diverse music collection than I actually had. At some point, I decided I wanted to join in on the fun, but not being a writer, I started playing my own version of Star Maker Machine on the show. I would make a four- or five-track set out of songs that fit the previous week's SMM theme but had not been posted. I did some digging through my playlists, and discovered that the first time I did this was on November 18, 2008. The previous week's theme had been "The Aristocrats", so that's what my first SMM set was about.

The songs I picked to play that day were perhaps not the most adventurous of choices, but this was an important step in the journey that lead me to become a contributor here. And really, if there's a better song than "Sir Duke" out there, I've yet to hear it.