After coming out of self-imposed musical exile in 2009, Memphis guitarist / singer John Paul Keith released his third disc, Memphis Circa 3AM, last week (Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum Records). This new release has its roots in the Sun Records’ sound of the 50’s but Keith expands upon this core with musical touch points that can be compared to John Lennon, The Plimsouls and Dave Edmonds / Rockpile. This is a warm and organic sounding disc that was produced by Roland Janes — house guitarist for Sun Records in the 50s and longtime engineer and producer at Sam Phillips Recording Services. Cut live to two-inch tape—with Janes providing direction from the booth and not a computer in sight—the album sounds deeply rooted and incredibly fresh at the same time.
The disc starts with the 50’s sounding roots-rock rave up “You Really Oughta Be With Me”, which features a blazing guitar solo and a call-and-response ‘chorus’ between the guitar leads and bass. This is followed by the Byrdsian/Laurel Canyon sounding “We Got All Night” which features echo-drenched guitar work along with a guitar solo that could rival Neil Young’s work on “Mr. Soul”. Continuing to switch gears around the band’s core sound, Keith and his band, the One Four Fives, (named after a standard chord progression) slide into the power-pop gem “Everything is Different Now”.
Keith has a winsome voice (with shades of John Lennon and/or Peter Case) and the clarity of his delivery highlight his ability to turn a lyrical phrase. Most of the songs are tales of love and loss – from the bluesy waltz “Ninety Proof Kiss” (“No one ever looked finer still wearing last-night’s eyeliner / I’m sure gonna miss that ninety-proof kiss / The only kind you ever laid on me”) to the rainy-day Lennonish number “She’s Almost You” (“Why should I pine for you every day, when she loves the words I used to say to you / they’re almost true”). The disc ends with the upbeat garage rock number “Baby We’re A Bad Idea” (“I’m not the only one / I know I’m not the only one / I don’t care when I’m tangled in your hair that I’m not your only one”). While other artists have used similar lyrical themes to explore Americana/New Depression tales of woe, Keith’s upbeat and energetic delivery is a welcome change and the disc’s thirty-five minute running time warrants repeated plays.
John Paul Keith is playing Bowery Electric on Oct. 24th along with the like-minded Swingin Neckbreakers and Twin Guns and Party Lights. Doors are at 7:30PM and cover is $10.
"Bel Argosy rehearses in the attic of the rectory of an Episcopal church in Harlem, and has therefore never had to directly fend-off of a mid-rehearsal vampire attack." - from the band's bio
For anyone not familiar with Bel Argosy, the band has the grit, energy and authenticity that band’s like The Replacements and the Meat Puppets had on their early releases (...which is sorely missed on these later bands’ most recent discs).
Brooklyn four-piece Bel Argosy released their debut 7", “The Wreck of the Bel Argosy”, just about a year ago and I had described the band’s sound as “melodic garage-rock influenced power-punk that seems to draw from bands like the Ramones and Marbles.” A few months back, the band released a 6-song cassette, “Let’s Hear It for Bel Argosy”, which follows in the same musical vein as their debut but, this time out, I’d also add in comparisons to the Meat Puppets and The Pagans.
The disc starts with "Yer Door" which is a garage punk/Ramones-style number (about a girl – natch) with a great bass line. The next track, "Belle Below Dagger", is a roots-rock number with a sing-along chorus that could have easily come out of the Meat Puppets’ back catalog. "Late to Give Up" goes back to the garage rock of the disc’s opener but adds some wild guitar lines beneath the song’s wall of fuzz. "Cloisterfuck" and “Imago” are power-pop numbers that fall somewhere between The Plimsouls and The Fleshtones but with a good bit more edge. Lastly, “The Lie” is a “bash it out” old-school punk number that has the ‘bite’ of The Pagans.
"Let's Hear It for Bel Argosy" is available as a free download or on a vintage matte cassette which features original artwork by Gabrielle Ferrer. This cassette is available for $5 from Jigsaw Records.
I wanted to include a video with this post but, unfortunately, Bel Argosy doesn't seem to play live that much so there aren't a lot of videos on the 'net. This song - "Elevators" - isn't on the new EP but it is a pretty good representation of the band's sound.
Bomp/Alive describes The Case Files as a collection of “demos, out-takes, one live shot & other rarities recorded between 1985 and 2010”. This description doesn’t do the disc justice as this is a pretty solid collection of tracks rather than the half-finished demos and cast-offs found in archival compilations by other artists (maybe Peter Case could give some pointers to whomever is managing the Marc Bolan/T Rex estate).
As this disc spans Case’s solo career post-The Plimsouls, there are some expected stylistic jumps. The music on The Case Files include: roots-rock, a heavy dose of blues, “Woody Guthrie style” social protest songs and a hint of the indie power-pop of The Plimsouls. The traditional blues number “Milk Cow Blues” was recorded live and the remaining tracks are a mix of full band studio performances and Case playing solo acoustic. The songs are a mixture of newly heard originals, early versions of songs that ended up on one of Case’s solo discs and covers of Alexandro Escovedo (“The End”), Bob Dylan (“Black Crow Blues”) and Rolling Stones (“Good Time Bad Times”) songs
The disc starts out strong with the upbeat root-rock tune “(Give Me) One More Mile” before heading into a social indictment of the past Republican administration with “Let’s Turn This Thing Around”. Musically, this later song is somewhat odd as it includes a host of sound effects (crowd noise, safety alarm noise, animal noises, etc.) along with some crazy synthesizer effects, courtesy of Stan Ridgeway. A chunk of the lyrics from this song are repeated on “The Ballad of the Minimum Wage” but on this later song, Case’s vocals are delivered beat-poetry style. Case also uses this spoken word delivery style on the other working class anthem on the disc “Kokomo Prayer Vigil”.
While there is nothing too ‘hard-edged’ on the disc, “Good Time, Bad Times” and “The End” are both bash ‘em out rock tunes. “Anything (Closing Credits)” (which sounds completely different than the version on Case’s 2006 release Torn Again) and “Trusted Friend” capture the pop sparkle of The Plimsouls and this first track features Eddie Munoz and the later was described by Case as a long lost track in between the Plimsouls and his solo career. Lastly, the disc also contains a stripped-down, melancholy version of “Steel Strings #1” (which features T. Bone Burnett) which was given a high-gloss sheen for Case’s first solo disc.
The Case Files Track List: 1. (Give Me) One More Mile 2. Let's Turn This Thing Around 3. Anything (Closing Credits) 4. The End 5. Good Times, Bad Times 6. Milkcow Blues 7. Kokomo Prayer Vigil 8. The Ballad of the Minimum Wage 9. Steel Strings (Demonstration) 10. Trusted Friend 11. Black Crow Blues 12. Round Trip Stranger Blues
Peter Case 2011 Fall Tour Sep. 9 - Vagabond Blues, Palmer, AK Sep. 10 - Out North Theatre, Anchorage, AK Sep. 14 - The Geomatic Attic, South Lethbridge, AB, Canada Sep. 15 - The Palomino, Calgary, AB , Canada Sep. 16 - The Roxy Theatre, Saskatoon, SK Canada Sep. 30 The Record Collector Concert Series, Bordentown, NJ Oct. 1 (12:30PM) - Bridge Street Live, Collinsville, CT Oct. 1 (6PM) - The Turning Point, Piermont, NY Oct. 2 - Roots Hoot House Concerts, Peace Dale, RI Oct. 4 - Stage On Herr, Harrisburg, PA Oct. 5 - Thunderbird Café, 4023 Butler Street, Lawrenceville, PA Oct. 6 - Rumba Café, Columbus, OH Oct. 8 - Trinity House Theatre, Livonia, MI Oct. 9 - Columbia Street West, Ft. Wayne, IN Oct. 10 - WYCE Fall Hat Trick Series,Grand Rapids, MI Oct. 11 - Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH Oct. 12 - The Good Neighborhood @ The Sportsman, Buffalo, NY Oct. 13 - Lovin' Cup, Rochester, NY Oct. 14 - Buffalo Film Festival Opening Night, The Screening Room Cinema Café, Amherst, NY Oct. 15 - This Ain't Hollywood, Hamilton, ON, Canada Oct. 16 - Hugh's Room, Toronto, ON Oct. 20 - Bayport BBQ, Bayport, MN Oct. 21 - Lee's Liquor Lounge, Minneapolis, MN Oct. 22 - House Of Righteous Music, Madison, WI Oct. 23 - Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
The closest show is Saturday, Oct. 1 at The Turning Point, 468 Piermont Ave. Piermont, NY. The show starts at 6PM and tickets are $20.
Peter Case released the well-received collection of demos, out-takes, one-time live performances & other rarities, The Case Files (Alive) earlier this year and All Music Guide said "these 12 songs make for an entertaining and empowering album that delivers the goods with smarts and simple, sweaty force. The Case Files proves this man’s cast-offs make for a better album than most acts’ level-best efforts, and with any luck, he’ll offer another look into his archives before long." Case is heading out on a Fall Tour in support of this disc that starts today in Palmer, AK.
The closest show is Saturday, Oct. 1 at The Turning Point, 468 Piermont Ave. Piermont, NY. The show starts at 6PM and tickets are $20.
Peter Case 2011 Fall Tour Sep. 9 - Vagabond Blues, Palmer, AK Sep. 10 - Out North Theatre, Anchorage, AK Sep. 14 - The Geomatic Attic, South Lethbridge, AB, Canada Sep. 15 - The Palomino, Calgary, AB , Canada Sep. 16 - The Roxy Theatre, Saskatoon, SK Canada Sep. 30 The Record Collector Concert Series, Bordentown, NJ Oct. 1 (12:30PM) - Bridge Street Live, Collinsville, CT Oct. 1 (6PM) - The Turning Point, Piermont, NY Oct. 2 - Roots Hoot House Concerts, Peace Dale, RI Oct. 4 - Stage On Herr, Harrisburg, PA Oct. 5 - Thunderbird Café, 4023 Butler Street, Lawrenceville, PA Oct. 6 - Rumba Café, Columbus, OH Oct. 8 - Trinity House Theatre, Livonia, MI Oct. 9 - Columbia Street West, Ft. Wayne, IN Oct. 10 - WYCE Fall Hat Trick Series,Grand Rapids, MI Oct. 11 - Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH Oct. 12 - The Good Neighborhood @ The Sportsman, Buffalo, NY Oct. 13 - Lovin' Cup, Rochester, NY Oct. 14 - Buffalo Film Festival Opening Night, The Screening Room Cinema Café, Amherst, NY Oct. 15 - This Ain't Hollywood, Hamilton, ON, Canada Oct. 16 - Hugh's Room, Toronto, ON Oct. 20 - Bayport BBQ, Bayport, MN Oct. 21 - Lee's Liquor Lounge, Minneapolis, MN Oct. 22 - House Of Righteous Music, Madison, WI Oct. 23 - Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
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