Atlantic/Stax Rhythm & Blues: Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere – Joe Morris

Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere – Joe Morris Orchestra

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/anytime-anyplace-anywhere-remastered/439839667?i=439839673

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4Jipjz8hK0DH0MEMxREXpj?si=79987771b4df4629

This song was released just a month before the hot brassy air of "Teardrops From My Eyes" would smother the need for songs like this out of existence, so it's understandable to think this is dated. The composition itself is quite a generic old-school R&B ballad, and Laurie Tate's vocals, while booming and powerful, come across as too screechy and overdone to make an impact. Still, with the historical context in mind (especially since this was actually the first #1 hit for Atlantic Records!), the song has enough grit and passion to sound fairly decent today, and I'll always choose a generic R&B groove over generic vocal jazz any day. Hey, unlike most vocal jazz, R&B is a genre made to awaken your body and strengthen its connection to the mind and soul: even in its lesser forms, it keeps you in touch with your highest and lowest senses simultaneously.

Verdict: Decent

NOTE: Beware of the Apple Music version on the Rhythm and Blues of the 50's Vol. 1 as the track called Joe Morris's "Anytime Anyplace Anywhere" is actually Van Walls's "Tee Nah Nah". Just follow the link above to hear the right version.

February 2024 Overview

 February 2024

Writer's Check-in

Hello everybody! I hope you all had a good last month. Sorry for the late update: it took some time (and energy) to upload my new reviews on the blog, so I delayed writing this up by two days. Speaking of which, I might as well talk about a project I've been meaning to do for, uh, two years now. I am planning right now to review every single song on the Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1973 and The Complete Stax / Volt Singles: 1959–1968 compilations along with putting some extra songs I think are great and should have been included on either. It's going to be a massive project that might take roughly about 1-2 years to complete, but it is a) something I have wanted to do for ages and b) will be a project I can do alongside my regular schoolwork. So, I've decided to do it! Some of you who either follow my RYM or this blog itself might have seen the first 13 reviews (which makes for an average of nearly a review per day since it started, not bad eh?), which those reviews might have not been too exciting (generic pre-50s R&B isn't a terribly interesting subject anyways and I've written so much about Professor Longhair that nobody probably wants to hear me rave for a billionth time). BUT we are now approaching "Teardrops From My Eyes" and the golden age of '50s Atlantic R&B very soon, so those reviews should be fun to read or at least will give some good recommendations. Anyway, I hope the project will be interesting to some of you, and if I end up completing it, I might do one for Motown as well!

In other news, I think I said something along the lines of last year that if my full enjoyment of music hasn't come back by February, I am probably dead. Well, I'm clearly not dead, and yes, it came back! I think taking a break and listening to a lot of stuff I hadn't heard in ages did the trick, which is why I even had the motivation to start a new music-writing project to begin with. I am very happy things came back to normal...except that happening also killed a lot of my motivation to check out new movies. I'll probably make some efforts to get back into it, but for now, I am happy that I, at least, have my primary hobby back.

Anyway, not much else for me to say. I had a lot of fun this month between music and my life in general, and I look forward to being about to write more for this blog in the upcoming weeks!

Best/Surprise/Disappointment

I enjoyed doing the new format, so let's do it with both music and movies!

Music

Best album: You're Living All Over Me - Dinosaur Jr.

The album that really kicked off me getting back into music. An album that somehow can become a loud and terrifying beast drowning you in an ocean of distortion and still has quite a sensitive and warm heart. And one has to admit that few indie rock albums before and after had nearly as many impressive guitar solos. A lot of people talk about Dinosaur Jr. as merely an influence to the grunge and indie rock that would follow it, but that does a disservice to the masterpiece that this album really is.

Most surprising album: After The Lights Go Out - The Walker Brothers

I have been a fan of Scott 3 and Scott 4 for a long time and had heard a couple of songs from his time with the Walker Brothers (which few people know that the band was, in their prime, nearly as big as the Beatles in the UK!), but doing a proper dive into their early singles blew me away with how much of Scott's performing and songwriting genius was present from the first singles. Yes, this material will by syrupy and heavily orchestrated, but with some of the stellar compositions and Scott's deeply humanistic vocals, it becomes some of the most tasteful and beautiful music ever recorded in the '60s. From the booming despair of "In My Room" to the chivalry of "Make It Easy On Yourself" to the irresistible catchiness of "(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me" to the near-spiritual catharsis of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", these singles are simply golden material that deserve just as much respect as what Scott would do after (hell, would have "Archangel" fit perfectly on Scott 4?). Technically, my favorite two Walker Brothers songs are actually from the '70s ("No Regrets" and "The Electrician"), but to ignore any of these great '60s singles would be a travesty. Fans of Phil Spector, Pet Sounds, Forever Changes, and Days of Future Passed don't know what they are missing out on if they haven't heard this compilation top-to-bottom already.

Worst album: Uhh...well, I don't think I listened to any bad albums this month. I guess The Clovers self-titled compilation was maybe the weakest one, but that's because the compilation was not fully representative of their prime material (I mean the bastards didn't even put "One Mint Julep", "Fool Fool Fool", or "Good Lovin'" on there! What the hell?). I even still enjoy that compilation anyway because how could anybody ever get tired of listening to "Crawlin'" or "Ting-A-Ling"? Whatever, let's just move on to movies.

Movies

Best film: Citizen Kane - Orson Welles. I mean how could this not be the winner? This movie is approaching being nearly a century old, and it is still a stunning piece of visual eye candy with a mysterious aura, still absolutely thrilling and entertaining, and can still cause you to empathize with Kane even as his arrogant-driven thirst for power slowly destroyed his life. It's so good that I cannot imagine how somebody could be bored with this movie: I can even imagine this movie being made today and still finding a very dedicated audience among indie moviegoers. The people who call this the greatest film ever made are really not kidding about this one.

Most surprising film: A Serious Man - Joel & Ethan Coen

I know that the Coens make a lot of movies that aren't meant to be comedic (Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, No Country For Old Men), but I really didn't expect this movie to be the bleakest and most morose Coen brothers film I've seen thus far. In a way, its philosophy is even scarier than nihilism: a higher being who gives messages to their children but speaks in ways that are too oblique and confusing for the followers to attain any refuge from the troubles the material world brings. This seems to be a common theme among many great Jewish artists (Randy Newman's sinister portrayal of the creator in "God's Song", Larry David's troubled existentialism in Curb Your Enthusiasm's fifth season, David Berman's hopeless portrayal of materialistic life in "Margaritas At The Mall"), but somehow, this one manages to hit me a bit harder than any other explorations of that theme I've seen. A masterpiece I highly recommend to anybody who has the stomach for it.

Worst film: Bullet Train - David Leitch

Not a bad movie, by any means, but I watched 5 movies last month and this was definitely the weakest one. A decent piece of entertainment, especially when watching with friends, and while it didn't really make a big impact on me, I don't think it takes itself that seriously either, so criticizing it would feel rather pointless. I also might be the wrong person to be writing about this since this movie is not really my type of sense of humor either. Again, didn't hate it, but not something I was crazy about either.

Reviews

I've been writing the reviews first on this RYM list and then uploading them here. Here are the links to the reviews I wrote this month, bolding the songs I consider truly excellent or great:

1. "Lowe Groovin'" - Joe Morris
2. "That Old Black Magic" - Tiny Grimes Quintet
3. "Annie Laurie" - Tiny Grimes Quintet
4. "Midnight Special" - Tiny Grimes Quintet
5. "The Applejack" - Joe Morris
6. "Cole Slaw" - Frank Culley
7. "Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" – Stick McGhee and His Buddies
8. "So Long" - Ruth Brown
9. "I’ll Get Along Somehow" - Ruth Brown
10. "Hey Little Girl" - Professor Longhair
11. "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" - Professor Longhair
12. "Tee Nah Nah" - Vann "Piano Man" Walls
13. "Danny Boy" - Al Hibbler

Monthly Playlist

Here is the link to this month's playlist, called "I Learned How To Love Before I Could Eat": https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tLd9Fj3CooEKG7sFTlXiM?si=47dfea788b284eea

Even if it is quite a different playlist than normal, I'm very happy with it (try to guess where this title is from!). It's a funny mix of songs, evenly split between classic R&B and 80s-90s indie rock/post-punk with a bit of the Walker Brothers sprinkled in for good measure. Hey, that was pretty much what my listening looked like this month, and I think nearly all the songs on the playlist, save maybe "The Electrician" and "Deeper Into Movies," should be accessible to anybody. Hope you all enjoy it!

Here is the tracklist:

1. "My Generation" - The Who
2. "Crosseyed and Painless" - Talking Heads
3. "Sludgefeast" - Dinosaur Jr.
4. "Pay Day" - Mississippi John Hurt
5. "Silence Kid" - Pavement
6. "Tarpit" - Dinosaur Jr.
7. "Stop Breathin'" - Pavement
8. "The Lung" - Dinosaur Jr.
9. "Favorite Thing" - The Replacements
10. "Stagger Lee" - Lloyd Price
11. "No Regrets" - The Walker Brothers
12. "The Ghetto" - Donny Hathaway
13. "Hard Times" - Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters
14. "In My Room" - The Walker Brothers
15. "Crawlin'" - The Clovers
16. "I Thank You" - Sam & Dave
17. "With A Little Help From My Friends" - Joe Cocker
18. "The Electrician" - The Walker Brothers
19. "Deeper Into Movies" - Yo La Tengo
20. "Well All Right" - Big Joe Turner
21. "'Cause I Love You" - Carla & Rufus Thomas
22. "La La Love You" - Pixies
23. "Push" - The Cure
24. "Rock The Joint" - Jimmy Preston
25. "Wait A Minute" - Barbara Stephens
26. "Soul Man" - Sam & Dave
27. "Big Bird" - Eddie Floyd
28. "Kuschty Rye" - Ronnie Lane
29. "Chinese Checkers" - Booker T. & The M.G.'s
30. "Happy Birthday" - Stevie Wonder

All right, that's all for now! Thank you anybody who is still reading these write-ups I do, and here's a great March! Keep checking in for more reviews of Atlantic R&B.

Atlantic/Stax Rhythm & Blues: Danny Boy - Al Hibbler

 "Danny Boy" - Al Hibbler

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/danny-boy/280598464?i=280598668

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1IsKF9a2XtQts4e2mTAEN5?si=d117a951b4e1426e

Recorded in New York, April 19, 1950

Al Hibbler may receive some respect from fans of vocal jazz and traditional American pop, but for most listeners today, this music will seem quite dated. Unfortunately, even if you are partial to this genre, one must admit this is effectively "sophisticated" lounge music, aiming to be tastefully in the background of classy settings and not much more. Sincerity and provoking emotional solid reactions are generally not the aims of these singers, so listening closely to this will invoke boredom more than anything else. ESPECIALLY since "Danny Boy" has been covered by everybody and their grandma, and unless somebody manages to sing it with a unique, sincere ring (like Johnny Cash did on American IV: The Man Comes Around) or pushes the theatricality to the tenth dimension (like Jackie Wilson did), I have little interest in listening to yet another rendition.

Verdict: Not recommended

Atlantic/Stax Rhythm & Blues: Tee Nah Nah - Vann "Piano Man" Walls

"Tee Nah Nah" - Vann "Piano Man" Walls

Apple Music: (Read the note below) https://music.apple.com/us/album/anytime-anyplace-anywhere/567052645?i=567052647

Recorded in New York, February 28, 1950

The wonderful Van "Piano Man" Walls arrives here at Atlantic Records, a man seriously responsible for the success of many future classic songs of Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, and The Clovers. His performing brilliance generally came from his diligence and tenacity: in other words, he would just play the everlovin' shit out of his instrument, scattering shattered piano notes all over a song whether it demanded such a rock 'n' roll drive or not. It was a unique way of performing that would often make funny songs gritty, lounge numbers blood-boiling, and wild songs even wilder.

Unfortunately, that is not quite what this tune will demonstrate. Van plays some fine piano licks on the song, and Brownie McGhee (Sticks McGhee's brother) gives an amusing vocal performance, but the composition itself is way too generic with too little musical meat provided by the backing players. A mildly entertaining song as a whole but hardly an essential recording.

Verdict: Decent

NOTE: For some bizarre reason, the only song on Apple Music marked as Walls's "Tee Nah Nah" is actually Joe Morris's "Anywhere, Anytime, Anyplace". So, the only way you can hear the song on Apple Music listening to...you guessed it, a recording marked as Joe Morris's "Anywhere, Anytime, Anyplace" on a compilation titled Rhythm and Blues of the 50's Vol. 1. Follow the link above and you should be fine.

Atlantic/Stax Rhythm & Blues: Mardi Gras In New Orleans - Professor Longhair

 "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" - Professor Longhair

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/mardi-gras-in-new-orleans/924785185?i=924785207

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/21cQzMJzLseYq3Q0Di3XqK?si=984ef7789c034465

Recorded in New Orleans, October 1949

This song is not simply Longhair's greatest gift to the musical world: it is, without a doubt, the greatest embodiment of the spirit of New Orleans in musical form ever made. The overflow of life-affirming jubilance, the warm and friendly playfulness, the lazy but funky rhythms soaked in booze, the gritty sense of humor, and musicianship that, at its best, can blow the mind and rock the heart with the glorious musical synthesis of rhumba, mambo, blues, calypso, and so many other genres. "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" captures all of this and more, instantly defining what this city's musical style was all about and inspiring nearly every significant New Orleans piano player since, from Fats Domino to Huey "Piano" Smith, Dr. John to Allen Toussaint.

Miraculously, the song is as individualistic as Professor Longhair gets while still feeling like an anthem of an entire culture. The steady but wobbly roll of the left-hand bassline nearly propels the jauntier right-hand melody forward as they together form the perfect musical parade: all of his songs have a level of tightness that causes their forward march to never halt, but as it cruises down with the bouncy horn fanfares, catchy choruses, lively vocals full of blues grit, and the wonderful, wonderful whistling, it becomes a sprawling and chaotic musical celebration that immediately shakes you down, lightens you up, and sucks you into the fun. Just hearing the damn thing kick in is unbelievably gutsy and effective, so effective that it takes you a second to realize this is actually less musically complex than most Longhair songs. Not that it matters anyway because this level of greatness comes once in a lifetime, and he wisely chose to not mess with the perfection of his piano concoction and, instead, send this song straight to anthemic status with its distinct New Orleans flavor.

The incredible part is that all of these elements come together so seamlessly and organically that you can imagine the whole thing was perfectly formed from the first take. That natural flow is, perhaps, the greatest reason it is still played today during the Mardi Gras festival, widely considered one of the quintessential songs of the city. And even with all the future cover versions, hoards of imitators of this style, and the poor production quality by today's standards, this recording emits a spiritual glow that has never dimmed since it was released. It is a truly inspiring piece of music that captures almost everything I, and so many people, hold dear music, which is why I insist everybody should hear this masterpiece whether or not you listen to New Orleans blues or not. Relistens are guaranteed to occur afterward because who can resist such a perfect vibe?

Verdict: Masterpiece

Be sure to also check out the version of the song on Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo. It doesn't have as much great piano work but sounds even more anthemic!

Atlantic/Stax Rhythm & Blues: Hey Little Girl - Professor Longhair

"Hey Little Girl" - Professor Longhair

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/hey-little-girl/924785185?i=924785195

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/14pbVDUZQdtbFwZ3J817tz?si=d38a3d6e2c644866

Recorded in New Orleans, October 1949

Professor Longhair himself had little to do with the story of the Atlantic label, but nearly any decent compilation of Atlantic R&B will, as a rule, include a couple of his songs. Reason? Even though, for Professor Longhair, the label was just a means by which he could get some dough, for the label themselves, Longhair's recordings were an event: not everybody working for Atlantic Records understood it at the time, but they were given an opportunity to cut some sides for the greatest piano-playing genius of New Orleans during his early peak. By giving him this platform, they were among the first to release FOUR timeless New Orleans standards ("Hey Little Girl," "Mardi Gras In New Orleans," "In The Night," "Tipitina") and release two more of his classics ("Hey Now Baby" and "Ball The Wall") on the future New Orleans Piano compilation. Quite an honor for an up-and-coming label that hadn't even become a household name yet.

Still, it really is all about Longhair and Longhair alone here. This song is simply a masterful demonstration of how proper use of dynamics and creative phrasings can transform an ordinary blues melody into something genuinely magical. Just listen to how he places an extra accentuation on that second-to-last note each time that funky piano riff is played, letting it tumble into completion rather than giving it a smooth finale. Or listen to how, before returning to the main groove, he plays a lighter melody that he literally punctures with a sharp glissando, shattering your mind into pieces before sucking you back into its intoxicating strut. With phrasings like these, the recording's drunken stumble feels alive and visceral in a way you can only get from a great bluesman like 'Fess, but the incredible fluency and flow of his piano-playing style allows it to attain the tightness of a perfect piece of machinery.

And if that doesn't already impress you enough, wait until you make it to the "Look what you gonna miss, honey!" solo. This is where Longhair's raw potential is unleashed in all of its glory: the heavy bassline is almost bone-crushing and the light part is incredibly beautiful in its airy and playful elegance, yet both of these parts mesh together perfectly as two facets of Longhair's personality, forever locked into battle for the rest of his career. Really, no other player in the history of the blues has placed heavy basslines and light melodic phrases together in a way that sounds so incredibly organic, and this is one of the first (and finest) demonstrations of this gift. Add in his deep, gritty vocals with his fun but cocky attitude, and you got yourself a recording that hasn't aged a day since 1950. Of course, he would sporadically produce more of this brilliance in the '50s and '60s before reaching his technical peak in the '70s, and while most of the performances on Rock 'N' Roll Gumbo and Crawfish Fiesta well surpass "Hey Little Girl" in terms of complexity and intricacy, in terms of raw power, he would pretty much never surpass the astonishing impact of his best Atlantic recordings. 

Verdict: Classic

Atlantic/Stax Rhythm & Blues: I’ll Get Along Somehow - Ruth Brown

 "I’ll Get Along Somehow" - Ruth Brown

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ill-get-along-somehow/189236797?i=189236809

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1WOhAGd0B7KE6D4PEoRiX7?si=4f749a1b469f4a2a

Recorded in New York, May 25, 1949

Another vocal jazz ballad from Ruth Brown, so those expecting something like "Teardrops From My Eyes" or "5-10-15 Hours" need to be a bit more patient. At this point, the label was still playing it safe, and since "So Long" was quite a commercial success (#6 on the R&B charts), they were going to have Ruth sing a couple more songs like it. The bad news is that "I'll Get Along Somehow" does not have the same level of vocal invention as its predecessor, which is not really her fault: the song itself does not lend itself to much diversity of emotional expression.

Yet, Ruth can bring so much energy to her performances that she can make these stiff standards sound fresh and alive, burning with a believable passion that we normally expect from the likes of Nina Simone nearly a decade later. Even if this sort of music puts you to sleep, the song's ending alone is worth the whole trip: a massive vocal blowout where Ruth sustains those final notes to leave a crater in her listener's mind. In a way, she is already singing and performing with the mindset of a soul singer, ditching the restraint of the pre-war generation for deeply personal, gritty, and honest deliveries. That's what makes these early songs of hers still quite treasurable: her vocal inspiration, confidence, and versatility are all there, but since the material given is not to her strengths, she bends and forces them to obey her command. No wonder, in less than a year, Ruth Brown would get those tough and kickass R&B songs that she was born to sing.

Verdict: Excellent