all-star albums: grouse marketing, crap music

[kenny weir]

I'm no big fan of Jerry Lee Lewis - don't actually own any of his records at the moment - but I am in kinda awe of him. So I was excited to get sent an email/press release about his new album. But - oh lawd - it's a duet album with the follolwing guests ...

B. B. King
Bruce Springsteen
Mick Jagger
Ronnie Wood
Neil Young
Toby Keith
John Fogerty
Keith Richards
Robbie Robertson
Merle Haggard
Kid Rock
Rod Stewart
Willie Nelson
George Jones
Little Richard
Delaney Bramlett
Buddy Guy
Don Henley
Kris Kristofferson
Eric Clapton
Ringo Starr
Jimmy Page

Yep, there's some greats in there (even if I think some them aren't fit to stand in Jerry Lee's shadow), but geez the very idea of listening to that simply, er, grates.

[Paul B]

When did the pop duet become de rigueur? Seems like everybody is doing it, and to mostly ill effect. Maybe it started with Sinatra and Bono????

Bye-ya

[Peterdubya]

Tony Bennett has a new one on the way too...
Track Listing for TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams /STING
Smile/BARBRA STREISAND WITH PINCHAS ZUKERMAN (Violin)
Put On A Happy Face/JAMES TAYLOR
The Shadow Of Your Smile/JUANES
Rags To Riches/ELTON JOHN
The Very Thought Of You/PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lullaby Of Broadway/DIXIE CHICKS
Cold, Cold Heart/TIM MCGRAW
The Best Is Yet To Come/DIANA KRALL
For Once In My Life/STEVIE WONDER
Are You Havin' Any Fun?/ELVIS COSTELLO
Because Of You/K.D. LANG WITH CHRIS BOTTI (Trumpet)
Just In Time/MICHAEL BUBLE
Sing You Sinners/JOHN LEGEND
The Good Life/BILLY JOEL
I Wanna Be Around/BONO
How Do Keep The Music Playing/GEORGE MICHAEL
I Left My Heart In San Francisco/TONY BENNETT WITH BILL CHARLAP (Piano)

[kenny weir]

The only surprise there is that there's nobody on BOTH albums. Malingerers!

[kenny weir]

Originally Posted by Paul B

When did the pop duet become de rigueur? Seems like everybody is doing it, and to mostly ill effect. Maybe it started with Sinatra and Bono????

Bye-ya

That may be it for the current vacuous trend, but a much more dignified and worthy traditon dates back to at least Louis/Ella and before. I dig the hell out of Armstrong and Crosby doin Gone Fishin'. Cracks me up every time.

[kenny weir]

And speaking of bullshit, my office is collectively chortlin' at one of this afternoon's Oprah segments, in which The Great Lady is doing her supermarket shopping!

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by Kenny Weir

That may be it for the current vacuous trend, but a much more dignified and worthy traditon dates back to at least Louis/Ella and before. I dig the hell out of Armstrong and Crosby doin Gone Fishin'. Cracks me up every time.

Agree--I love those old duets, and they're on an entirely different level. I was thinking of the more recent trend wherein an éminence grise records with people who are usually both not in his league and not in his genre.

I love Tony Bennett, but I'll be taking a pass on his new one...

[John P. Cooper]

Originally Posted by kenny weir

That may be it for the current vacuous trend, but a much more dignified and worthy traditon dates back to at least Louis/Ella and before. I dig the hell out of Armstrong and Crosby doin Gone Fishin'. Cracks me up every time.

There was a lot of that back in the 30s and 40s, especially on Decca with all their vocal artists. They used Ella with a lot of people - Ink Spots, Louis Jordan.
Bing with Connee Boswell. Andrews Sisters with Woody Herman and Jimmy Dorsey. Lots more.

Columbia had the Modernaires with Sinatra.

Victor had a neat release - one side had Tommy Dorsey with Duke Ellington's orchestra and the other side had Duke Ellington with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra.

Nat Cole did a really fun record with Woody Herman of "My Baby Just Cares for Me", not to mention the King Cole Trio with Stan Kenton's orchestra doing "Orange Colored Sky".

Also there is an amusing record on Capitol by the Hollywood (All - Stars) with Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton singing "Happy Blues" where they each insult each other and their different styles of music. Good fun.

The combination of art and commerce.

[Robert de St. Loup]

I'm a huge fan of Jerry Lee, but this one sounds like a must-miss (though I would have liked to hear him sing with Merle and George back in their heydays). He's done this sort of thing before:



Jerry Lee Lewis - The Session / Recorded in London with Great Guest Artists// Featuring: Tony Ashton, Andy Bown, Delaney Bramlett, B.J. Cole, Matthew Fisher, Peter Frampton, Rory Gallagher, John Gustafon, Kenny Jones, Mickey Jones, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Klaus Voormann, Gary Wright. 1. Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee 2. Taking My Music to the Man 3. Baby What You Want Me to Do 4. Bad Moon Rising 5. Sea Cruise 6. Jukebox 7. No Headstone on My Grave 8. Big Boss Man 9. Pledging My Love 10. Memphis 11. Trouble in Mind 12. Johnny B. Goode 13. High School Confidential 14. Early Morning Rain 15. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On 16. Sixty Minute Man 17. Move on Down the Line 18. What'd I Say 19. Rock & Roll Medley: Good Golly Miss Molly/Long Tall Sally/Jenny Jenny/Tutti frutti/Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On

[Gary Sisco]

The Killer became a caricature of himself long ago. I'd not touch this record with a twelve-foot pole.

[Robert de St. Loup]

The Killer was a caricature from the get-go! But I know what you mean, now he's a caricature of a caricature, a second generation Xerox(TM). He's gone from being drawn by David Levine to a random guy outside Jackson Square Park (have those guys come back to NO yet?). I'd expect this record to be pretty tired.

[kenny weir]

OK I'm up to about track six on the Jerry Lee album. And no, I didn't pay for it. It sucks really, really big time. Really fucking dreadful. Actually, Jerry Lee sounds fantastic, vocals and pianna both, backed by a very cool rocking combo that includes Jim Keltner on drums. Which makes the guests bit so bloody lame. The album opens with Jerry Lee absolutely buried in reverb on Led Zep's Rock And Roll, with Jimmy Page's guitar kinda OK. But it gets much, much worse. The vocal duet with Fogarty on Travelin' Band is a balls up. I haven't even got to Kid Rock doing Honky Tonk Woman. Oh god - Ringo doing Sweet Little Sixteen. Barf!

Funny thing is I can understand it all perfectly. This will lauded by all sorts of people who have little idea about who the Killer is, let alone where he's coming from, but they will know all about the guests. How could they not? There's so frigging many of them. But it all hopelessly misses the point.

Kid Rock? Honky Tonk Woman? My colleagues are looking at me, wondering what the fuck I'm laughing about.

Now playing: Rod Stewart and What Made Milwaukee Famous. Oh God ...

[Gentle Giant]

Agree with the lame duet format that everybody and his monkey seems to have to do these days. Also, the general old fart/young blood guest shots a la Santana's Supernatural. However, I did hear one cool thing about the Tony Bennett album. Most of these albums, the guests phone in their parts and the engineer creates the "duet." My understanding is that Tony actually flew out to where his partners were and did live, in-person duets. That's worth a few brownie points in my book.

[John P. Cooper]

Burn-outs on parade!

[Robert de St. Loup]

Clapton and JJ Cale have a new duet album coming out. I'd buy it if Clapton weren't on it.

[Sherman]

Check out this "All Star" Line-up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BMMw3di9d0

[kenny weir]

I reviewed this for my rag about a month ago:

**********

Sunday Herald Sun, October 22

ROCK 'N' ROLL
By: KENNY WEIR

Last Man Standing
Jerry Lee Lewis
(Shangri-La/Shock)
2 stars

In short: Cynical triumph of marketing over intelligence.

JERRY Lee Lewis sounds brilliant on what will likely be his best-selling record, inimitable vocals and pumping "pianna'' full of passion and spunk.

But while the inclusion of a ridiculously long guest list - there are more than 20 - may constitute savvy marketing, Lewis's magic is diluted.

True, some of his duet partners - Willie Nelson, Delaney Bramlett, George Jones and Merle Haggard - are kindred souls who, in a more conducive setting, may have made sparks fly.

Others - B.B. King, John Fogerty, various Rolling Stones, Little Richard and even Jimmy Page (who turns in a pretty good job on Led Zep's Rock and Roll) - display only shakily realised potential.

But the duets featuring Ringo Starr, Kid Rock, Rod Stewart, Don Henley, Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton serve only to obscure the Lewis genius in a fog of mediocrity.

*********

After one last (and I mean FINAL) listen, I upped the star rating from one to two on the basis of the Killer's performance.

In the meantime, I heard that the top-rating breakfast show on Melbourne's top-rating talk station, 3AW, was enthusiastically spruiking the album.

When a mutal friend had lunch with one of them, the radio guys said: "Your mate, Kenny weir, is crazy - this is a great album!" (Or words to that effect).

Sheesh - if that's what those losers think is "great", I feel sorry for them - obviously, they have no idea just how great music can be.