Enter The Vault
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my dated music tastes at Wolfgang’s Vault. I’ve been hooked since late 2006, when I found out about the Web site in an article in Rolling Stone. Launched in 2006, its concert vault features more that 1043 concert recordings available for download at $9.98 or for free in streaming audio.
Many of the concerts are from the personal archive of the late Bill Graham, concert promoter and owner of the famed Fillmore and Winterland concert halls in New York and San Francisco. The majority of the concerts were recorded between the mid 60s and early 80s, so you won’t find any rare live material from any of today’s acts. But its wealth of material from rock ‘n’ roll’s past provides many exciting moments.
Check out either of the Led Zeppelin shows from the Fillmore West in 1969. The 4/27 show features a take on “How Many More Times” that is so spine shattering, you’ll forget that the song clocks in at a mind-numbingly excessive 22 minutes. Other highlights include a raucous Boz Scaggs performance (with guest spots from Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal) on the first of a five-night celebration/mourning of the closing of the Fillmore West, and a Bruce Springsteen show from 1973 at the legendary Max’s Kansas City nightclub in New York.
But, the recordings on the site aren’t merely limited to the giants (some might say dinosaurs) of 1970s rock. Listeners can find shows from The Cure, The Clash, Elvis Costello and more. Even Culture Club and A Flock Of Seagulls have recordings in the vault. If you want my recommendations, check out all of The Who’s shows for blistering performances of their rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia.
New Kids In The Hall
On Monday, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will induct its 23rd class into pop music immortality. Leonard Cohen, John Mellencamp, The Ventures, The Dave Clark Five and Madonna will be honored, joining the ranks of legends such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It’s a pretty solid class, but the upcoming induction ceremony got me thinking about bands I’d like to see in the Rock Hall that, for some reason or other, have been continually left off the ballot. Here are my top three:
The MC5 – Despite having released only three albums between their debut in 1968 and breakup in 1972, the mark this quintet left on rock music is immeasurable. Their blistering proto-punk crunch and incendiary “fuck-you” attitude helped define the Detroit rock scene in the late 1960s. In 1968, the hype surrounding them was so great that they made the cover of Rolling Stone before they even released their first album. Listen to their debut, Kick Out The Jams, and decide if the hype was justified. If your spine doesn’t feel as if it’s been shattered, something is wrong.
Grand Funk Railroad – It’s hard not to ignore the impact this power-trio had from 1970-1971, critics be damned. While Grand Funk was disparaged in the music press for being derivative, sloppy and unmelodic, their fans ate up the band’s mix of working-class sweat and garage band punch. Mark Farner was never a great lyricist, but the simple lyrics of party anthems such as “Footstompin’ Music” and reflective message songs such as “I’m Your Captain” spoke to his audience of working-class teenagers in their language. Listen to the fuzz-soaked guitar and wailing vocals on any cut from Closer To Home and E Pluribus Funk and you’ll understand how Grand Funk sold out Shea Stadium in only 72 hours in 1971.
Yes – The Rock Hall seems to have a bias against progressive rock groups (Pink Floyd has been the only one inducted), but Yes is as deserving as any. Yes’ music goes beyond the bloated song forms and indulgent solos that typified many prog-rock acts. There are plenty of solos, to be sure, but they rarely disrupt the progression of the music, as lengthy solos in progressive rock often do. That’s not to mention that these guys could also rock when they wanted to. Listen to “Sound Chaser,” from Relayer, or any cut from The Yes Album. The interplay between the aggressive bass of Chris Squire and Steve Howe’s classically tinged guitar is exhilarating.
