Legends – Page 28 – 7th Level Music

Gary Wilson – It’s Friday Night with Gary Wilson

I’ve been mildly obsessed with Gary Wilson’s music since seeing him perform at Levitation Chicago earlier this year. It’s to the point where I’m probably dressing up as some variation of him for Halloween. I’ve been awaiting his new record of avant-garde lounge music, Friday Night with Gary Wilson, for months.

It starts with the brief, chaotic, and weird “A Tree Cries in the Wind.” It’s some sort of tape-looped fever dream of a car crashing through a swanky bowling alley lounge and then into the recording studio next door. It moves into “I Want to Hold Your Hand Tonight,” which gets us back to familiar Gary Wilson material – A guy just wants the chance to treat his lady (the ever-mysterious Linda, in this case) right. “Every night is Friday night,” Wilson sings as he lays down peppy electric organ grooves. Every night can be Friday night with Wilson’s music if you open yourself up to it.

Wilson tells Linda “I’m Going to Take You to a Thousand Dreams,” including flying to the moon, walking through the park, and making sweet love to the sound of a rather hot guitar solo. “You’re the Coolest Girl Tonight” isn’t about a girl who’s cool as in Miles Davis / Fonzie / Joe Cool-type of cool. It’s about a girl who’s cold to everyone around her, but Wilson can’t resist her beauty and the chance to thaw out this fine lady and show her a good time.

Gary Wilson’s Fridays aren’t always smooth, however. “Sick Trip on Friday Night” has him too timid to talk to Linda, even though he knows he’s the right guy for her. He goes through it every weekend. The quirky synths on it bounce like the thoughts and dreams in his head.

“Yeah, let’s swing,” says Wilson at the beginning of “We’ll Dance into the Stars.” Dancing on the moon and through the galaxy is a common theme on the record, and this groovy lounge cut is perfect for a slow dance (or an all-skate) aboard your favorite starcruiser.

Wilson’s obsession with Linda continues on “Like a Scene from a Movie Long Gone.” It even starts with the lyric, “Gary loves Linda.” Wilson sings about himself in the third person and then in the first, so you’re never sure how much of his songs are fantasies and how much is something that really happened to him. The song has some of his best electric piano work on the record.

“The Mermaid Song” is about a dream in which a mermaid sings for Wilson from the ocean, possibly luring him to either the love of his life or his doom. Wilson drops Linda, Cindy, and Cheryl’s names, but is any of them the mermaid, or is the mermaid a composite of all of them? Wilson’s synth work on it is outstanding. Beck wishes he had grooves this good.

The drums on “Soon I’ll Be Kissing Sandy” almost sound reversed, but the song is too playful to be weird. “Linda” returns after that, with some nice strings accompanying her. Wilson name checks his band (the Blind Dates) in it, and even one of his best hits, “Linda Wants to Be Alone,” in it. The groove on this is so sick that it needs antibiotics.

Even a song with such a blue title as “You Made Me Feel My Misery” can’t avoid Wilson’s ultra-lounge grooves. Wilson pines for a lost love, even though the relationship was miserable. “I Thought of You Last Night” is a weird mix of crowd noise, ambient piano, drunk synths, and something a bit nightmarish. It quickly fades into “I’ll Make You My Dream Girl,” which makes me wonder about Wilson’s obsession with the girl mentioned in the song.

The album ends with “Sometimes I Cry Late at Night,” an instrumental that showcases what a damn good pianist Wilson is. His skills are easy to miss in many of his songs as you listen to his quirky lyrics or dance to his lounge grooves, but Wilson is a fine jazz player who can put it down with the best of them.

You could spend your Friday night watching bad TV and eating those leftover chicken wings, or you could spend it with Gary Wilson, the Blind Dates, Linda, Sandy, Cheryl, Cindy, and a bunch of other fine ladies. I know what I’d pick.

Keep your mind open.

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Pink Floyd to release 27-disc set of early and unreleased material.

Members of the psychedelic pop group Pink Floyd. From left to right, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Rick Wright. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)

Start your Christmas wish list now because Pink Floyd is set to release The Early Years 1965-1972 this November – a 27-disc box set covering not only albums like Atom Heart Mother and Ummagumma, but also rare BBC sessions, unreleased studio sessions, remastered singles, unreleased video, and over seven hours alone of unreleased live audio tracks.

They also plan to release a two-disc (and far more affordable) set called The Early Years – Cre/ation. This stuff is gold if you’re a fan of Pink Floyd, classic rock, prog rock, or psychedelic rock.

Keep your mind open.

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Massive Attack release two new singles.

Electro and trip-hop legends Massive Attack have released two new singles this week – “The Spoils” (which isn’t yet available in the U.S.) and “Come Near Me” (teaming with Ghostpoet on that one). “Come Near Me” is, no surprise, excellent and both tracks hopefully portend a full-length album later this year.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Bebel Gilberto – Tudo (2014)

I don’t know how I missed that the lovely Bebel Gilberto released Tudo in 2014, but I’m glad seeing her live reminded me to pick up this record. It’s another beautiful mix of bossa nova, electro, and lounge music that only she seems to be able to create.

The opening track, “Somewhere Else,” is sung in English and Portugese and lures the listener into taking their dream vacation, be it for real or even in the vastness of one’s mind. It even includes birdsong in the background, which I assume happened because someone left the window of the recording studio open and birds naturally land and sing whenever Ms. Gilberto even hums a tune.

“Nada Nao” (“Nothing”) is just Gilberto’s voice, an acoustic guitar, and hand percussion. It’s a fun, toe-tapping track. “Tom de Voz” (“Tone of Voice”) is a short and sweet song highlighting (What else?) Gilberto’s lovely voice.

“Novas Ideias” (“New Ideas”) has Gilberto singing alongside her frequent co-writer Seu Jorge. It will instantly make you happy, as it’s a fun samba-influenced cut that you need to play on your next date or slip to the DJ at the next wedding reception you attend. Her cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” is outstanding and brings a whole new feel to the ballad.

The title track (which means “All”) has some of Gilberto’s best vocals, as she dances around tricky words like a ballerina spinning across stage. I love the simple organ and synths on it, too, as they float behind her vocals with the hand percussion setting the beat. “Saudade Vem Correndo” (“Longing Comes Running”) is one of her many songs that will instantly make you happy. The flute backing her up on it is a great touch. “Areia” (“Sand”) begins with chimes that remind you of sand falling through an hourglass. The guitar work on it is a hypnotic low rhythm with a slight Flamenco feel. It’s even a bit dark until Ms. Gilberto glides in to rescue us and make us think of strolling on a Brazilian beach and enjoying an ice cream cone with a lover.

Or maybe the beach is in France, considering the next song has a French title – “Tout Es Bleu” (“All Are Blue”). It’s a great electro-jazz track that has probably been remixed by DJs across the world by now. It deserves to be played at your next late night party. You can’t be blue during it, so thanks to Ms. Gilberto for giving us a cure to our doldrums.

“Lonely in My Heart” has Gilberto’s vocals slightly reverbed as some acid lounge electric beats shuffle behind her and trippy synths creep in now and then. They might be evoking the ghosts of a relationship Gilberto sings about in the track. They bring a cool energy to the song even if they don’t.

When it comes to Ms. Gilberto and I, “Vivo Sonhando” (“I Live Dreaming”). I live dreaming of her singing to me in a dim club as we sit at a small table and enjoy fresh juice and a jazz band. This song pretty much describes a scenario like that and I’d probably melt right there in my chair if that ever happened. It’s a gorgeous track that, like any good dream, is over too soon.

“Inspiracao” (“Inspiration”) is a cool electro song. I love how she can jump into electro and lounge music without any trouble. “It’s All Over Now” is a heartbreaking song about a breakup and how Gilberto wishes the best for her lover and hopes they cherish the good times they had. It’s a sublime ending to a lovely record.

You need to hear Bebel Gilberto if you haven’t before. Her songs can change the mood of any place, person, or function for the better.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: John Carpenter – July 15, 2016 – Detroit, MI

The Detroit Masonic Temple Theatre building is a massive, imposing place. It’s gorgeous, and this is the first thing we saw there.

We were there to see John Carpenter’s live film music retrospective, so this sign was a good one that the show would be outstanding.

Carpenter and his band (which includes his son, Cory, on keyboards and synthesizers, and his godson, Daniel Davies on lead guitar) have been on tour most of the summer and the Detroit date was one of the last three in the U.S. before embarking on a tour of Europe and the United Kingdom. I wasn’t going to miss this show, and I was delighted to see a screening of Escape from New York had been added to the bill since I bought the tickets. The screening was a hoot, with people hissing every time Snake Plissken was on screen, cheering for every major cast member, and laughing at Lee Van Cleef’s giant “futuristic” walkie-talkie.

Carpenter and crew opened with the Escape from New York theme and then gave us a great show combining film theme music and cuts from his two recent albums – Lost Themes and Lost Themes II.

The “Escape from New York” theme while recent 90-year birthday boy Harry Dean Stanton watches over us.

“Vortex” from Lost Themes was particularly good live, and the crowd went crazy for the theme to Assault on Precinct 13. Of course, they put a fog machine to good use for the theme from The Fog (one of the best ghost movies ever made).

John Carpenter in stage fog playing the theme from “The Fog.” What more could you want?

The crowd was having a ball (and many were hammered drunk) by this point. The theatre’s air conditioning was working at minimal levels, so everyone in the joint was sweaty and a bit rowdy. We would’ve been miserable had it not been for Carpenter and his band tearing it up through the theme to Big Trouble in Little China and nice cuts from Lost Themes II like “Distant Dream.” Davies, by the way, is a great guitarist.

The crowd went absolutely nuts when this happened.

The subliminal messages from They Live played on the screen, cutting into the film scenes shown throughout the theme. The movie, which is more prescient now than ever, and its theme struck a chord with the audience, and it was great to see the whole band wearing sunglasses in the spirit of Roddy Piper and Keith David.

Of course, they got a standing ovation for the Halloween theme.

I was also delighted to see and hear them play the themes from some of Carpenter’s lesser-seen works – In the Mouth of Madness (which I really need to see again) and the completely bonkers Prince of Darkness. They ended with Carpenter telling us, “Remember, as you go home, drive safe. Christine is out there!” before launching in to the Christine theme.

It was a great show, and one I’m glad I didn’t miss. Catch them if you can. It’s a must-see if you’re a fan of horror films, film scores, Carpenter’s work, or cinema.

Keep your mind open.

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Pixies offer new album and fun goodies through PledgeMusic.

Pixies‘ new album, Head Carrier, is due out September 30, 2016. You can pre-order it and a lot of fun extras through their PledgeMusic page for the album. You can order it on CD, LP, or digital download, of course, but why not add a T-shirt, limited posters, and artwork book, too?

People are already buzzing about the first single, “Um Chagga Lagga,” (which is great punk-fuzz) and how one song on the album is about the band’s former bass player, Kim Deal, sung by their new bass player, Paz Lenchantin.

Don’t miss out on fun stuff offered by a band who can do whatever they want whenever they want it.

Keep your mind open.

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Unreleased 1969 Betty Davis music now available!

File this under “Best News You’ve Heard Today.” Jazz / soul / funk queen Betty Davis, former wife of jazz legend Miles Davis, has worked with Light in the Attic Records to remaster nine previously unreleased tracks from 1969 sessions featuring Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Mitch Mitchell, and many more rock and jazz greats. The Columbia Years 1968-1969 is now available for pre-order.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Harry Nilsson – Nilsson Schmilsson (2004 reissue)

If you’re unaware of the cultural significance of singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson’s 1972 masterpiece, Nilsson Schmilsson, it’s the album that produced “Without You” and “Coconut.” It also produced other tracks that should be remembered as much as those mega-hits.

“Gotta Get Up” is a funny, quirky pop song about waking up before dawn after a late night of partying and sex that skewers the 1970’s party culture. It’s still valid today. Listen to it and try not to think of club kids, Tinder hook-ups, and Las Vegas bachelor and bachelorette parties.

“Driving Along” continues the skewering, but this time the dying hippie subculture was the target (“They seem to say nothing, they seem to go farther, they seem to go nowhere.”). “Early in the Morning” is a wicked blues cut with simple, haunting organ and vocals by Nilsson. “The Moonbeam Song” could be a trippy song about getting high and watching the night sky, but it’s more about introspection (euphoric or not). The acoustic guitars and mellotron are a nice combination.

“Down” is another dip into the blues; with heavy R&B vocal influences and funky horns that only seem to exist in songs from the 1970’s. The brass section hits as hard as Nilsson’s soulful vocals on it.

No one can deny the power of “Without You.” It’s heartbreaking, especially when you consider the songwriters (Peter Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger) both committed suicide. Nilsson goes for broke on the vocals, and legendary keyboardist Gary Wright plays one of the best and saddest piano pieces of the decade. This song won Nilsson a Grammy and was on the Billboard charts for a year after its release.

I’m glad he put the equally famous “Coconut” after it to make us smile again after our hearts have had a cigarette put out on them. Everyone from the Muppets to the Homer Simpson has covered it. What most people miss is that the main theme of the song is “the cause is the cure,” as Nilsson mentions in the liner notes to the reissue. The song’s a Mobius strip. “Let the Good Times Roll” is a fun version of the blues standard, and it’s a nice set-up for the jaw-dropping “Jump into the Fire” – a rocker so good it leaves you dumbfounded the first time you hear it. It’s a forgotten Top 40 hit from the early 70’s, which is a crying shame, and the reason many promotional spots for Nilsson Schmilsson proclaimed it to be a “rock record.”

“I’ll Never Leave You” is a dark, melancholy end to the album as Nilsson pleads for a lost love to return. It’s “Without You” without any of the hope. It’s a bleak Radiohead track before Radiohead were learning childhood rhymes.

The 2004 reissue also contains a Spanish language version of “Without You,” the quirky sort-of love song “How Can I Be Sure of You,” a demo version of “The Moonbeam Song,” the short and weird “Lamaze,” the war protest song “Old Forgotten Soldier,” and an alternate version of “Gotta Get Up.” There’s also a great vintage radio spot from the album that includes interviews clips with Nilsson and producer Richard Perry.

It’s a fine record and it’s surprising Nilsson isn’t given more credit from contemporary musicians. He’s sometimes referred to as “the missing Beatle,” for crying out loud.

Keep your mind open.

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Underworld – Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future

What do you do when you’re one of the biggest electronic acts in the world and you decide to return from a six-year hiatus? If you’re Underworld, you drop what could be the comeback record of the year – Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future.

It’s perfectly timed; because Underworld’s newest record is also one of the most optimistic records of the year. We need optimism right now in this bleak political atmosphere. “I Exhale,” the first track from the record, is over eight minutes of them telling us to take a deep breath and let go of all the molehills we’ve built into mountains. In the wake of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, it’s good to hear a song that tells us that “everything is golden” and to look toward “the light…a globe on the horizon.” “If Rah,” with its thumping beats, acknowledges that everyone suffers, but “Life isn’t shit.” It encourages us to “Have a good time.”

The opening synths of “Low Burn” could be something from a John Carpenter film score, but the dance floor percussion reminds us to “be bold, be beautiful, free, totally, unlimited.” The song bounces and soars, as if the low burn in the title references a lift-off from the planet.

The Spanish-style acoustic guitar on “Santiago Cuatro” is an interesting surprise and instantly intriguing. It borders on Middle Eastern rhythms and becomes a meditative piece with minimal percussion and odd, slightly fuzzed radio transmissions.

“Motorhome,” with its “Baba O’Riley”-like synths, gives the bluntest advice on the whole record. “What don’t lift you drags you down. Keep away from the dark side.” Life would be better for all of us if we spurned negativity and embraced compassion. “Ova Nova” is light-hearted, highly danceable, and ready for your Summer of 2016 playlist. “Nylon Strung” is a bold love song with Depeche Mode-like synths and simple, giddy-love lyrics like “I wanna hold you, laughing.”

This is a tremendous return for Underworld, and for all of us, to a world of bliss that is ours for the taking whenever we want it. We just have to be bold enough to live it.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Bebel Gilberto – June 18, 2016 – Ann Arbor, MI

I’ve wanted to see the lovely Bebel Gilberto for many years. I’ve always missed her past Chicago dates due to work, but I finally got to see her in a great venue at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival – a nice summer arts and music festival that takes place over two weeks on the University of Michigan campus.

The show was at the Power Center theatre on campus, and the onstage set-up was simple.

“That’s an impressive [drum] kit,” I told my wife. It was a full kit combined with hand percussion instruments. There was an acoustic guitar, a laptop computer, and a microphone for Ms. Gilberto. That was all she and her two-piece band needed.

Ms. Gilberto owned the stage as soon as she walked onto it. She was full of pep and had the crowd in her hands within moments.

She sang a good number of songs from her latest album, Tudo, including the title track, “Nudo Nao,” a cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” and some of her classics like “So Nice,” “Bring Back the Love,” and “Aganju” (a personal favorite).

Ms. Gilberto and her band killing it on “Aganju.”

She closed with two cuts from Tanto Tiempo – the always stunning “Samba Da Bencao” and “Close Your Eyes.” She had every Brazilian woman in the audience (and a few kids) dancing in the aisles by then.

Ms. Gilberto getting her groove on during “Close Your Eyes.”

This show has gone to the top of my list on my favorite live performances of 2016 so far because it’s the first show to bring me to tears. Ms. Gilberto’s drummer left the stage for a few numbers and I gasped when her guitarist played some familiar chords on the second percussion-free song. They were the opening chords to Radiohead‘s “Creep.”

My eyes misted as soon as she sang the first line. A few people in the crowd cheered as they recognized the song, jaws dropped as she dropped the f-bomb in the chorus, and my wife and I were wiping tears from our eyes by the end. It was gorgeous. Bebel Gilberto’s voice is nothing short of hypnotizing, and hearing her sing this song about longing and heartbreak was an unexpected surprise.

Ms. Gilberto singing “Creep” while my wife and I cried.

The crowd cheered when they’d finished the song. She said, “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” I said loud enough for the whole auditorium to hear me.

She laughed and then said, “We’re thinking about recording that. Some people don’t like it, but we like it.”

Please do, Ms. Gilberto, and please come back to the Midwest soon.

Keep your mind open.

[Thanks to Vickie Starr for getting me a press pass to this show. She rules.]

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