Month: June 2014

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu brought some Philly soul to the Pastorius Park Free Summer Concert Series June 25, 2014, in Chestnut Hill, PA.

There are a lot of cool things about living in Philly, especially for a guy who spent the first 40 years of his life in and around the cornfields of Illinois and Iowa.

Cheesesteaks (yes, they’re that good), Phillies baseball, cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks, Independence Hall, cheesesteaks, the Jersey Shore right next door and . . . cheesesteaks (Wiz, witout: Philly people will know what that means.)

But the coolest of the cool for me is the music scene here, specifically the Philly sound, also known as Philly soul. And for me that means Hall & Oates, The O’Jays, The Stylistics, Lou Rawls and the next generation that includes Amos Lee and Mutlu.

If you’re a Hall & Oates or Amos Lee fan, you likely know Mutlu. He’s the next generation of Philly singer-songwriters and he’s collaborated with both Hall & Oates and toured extensively with Lee providing backup vocals. Dude can sing, man.

The first time we saw Mutlu was several years ago when he was the opener for a Daryl Hall solo show at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA. After his set, my wife and I looked at each other and said, “Hey, that guy is really good.”

And we’ve followed his career ever since. We’ve seen him headline the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia a couple of times (and here’s a behind-the-scenes tip for you Philly folks: at Mutlu solo gigs, it’s not unusual for Amos Lee to pop up out of the crowd and get on stage to sing a few songs with Mutlu.)

So when we heard that Mutlu was one of the featured artists at the Pastorius Park Free Summer Concert Series presented by the Chestnut Hill Community Association, we were thrilled. Chestnut Hill is a wonderfully hip and artsy community north and west of Philadelphia and one of many communities in our area that offer summer concert series. Forget that they’re free, which is nice. The musical talent at these presentations, which normally are outdoors, is off the charts.

But Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating the night of the concert (June 25, 2014) – she’s obviously never heard Mutlu sing, and besides, she can be a ratfink when it comes to many of my outdoors entertainment choices – so the concert was moved to one of the local elementary schools in Chestnut Hill.

And that didn’t deter Mutlu. Did I mention that the dude can sing? He did a lot of his original stuff, but also covered songs like “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison; “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King; “I Wanna Love You” by Bob Marley; and “My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder.

The highlight for me, though, was the Mutlu song “Caramel.” It’s got a Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” vibe. Check out the video that accompanies this story. And check out Mutlu’s solo stuff as well at www.mutlusounds.com. Dude can sing, man.

Then go to this link, https://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/currentep.html?ep_id=81, and see the “Live From Daryl’s House” episode No. 66 featuring Amos Lee and Mutlu. Watch as the three artists pour the Philly soul all over “Caramel.”

This week, I’m in a Philly mood, baby. And you will be, too.

Grand Funk’s Mark Farner rocks the ‘Happy Together’ lineup

By Mike Morsch

On June 25, 2014

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Mark Farner, former lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Grand Funk Railroad, is still rockin’ on the 2014 Happy together tour.

Howard Kaylan admitted on stage Tuesday night at the Keswick Theatre that the Turtles used to be a drug band. And he added that more than 40 years later, they still are.

It’s just that now, the drugs aren’t cocaine and marijuana, they’re Lipitor and Viagra.

Bada-boom!

Mark Volman, left, and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles anchor the 2014 Happy Together Tour.

Old-age jokes worked with the packed house on June 24, 2014, in Glenside, PA, because most of us are old now. We’re not ancient, just seasoned. Classic may be a better word. And by the way, we had the best music, you young whippersnappers.

Kaylan, longtime front man for the Happy Together tour, and his Turtles partner Mark Volman, who went on to become Flo & Eddie after the Turtles disbanded in 1970, have been doing the Happy Together gig now for several years. They first started it in the mid-1980s, took some time off, and then revised the idea again in 2010. At one time, the Happy Together tour had 15 stops across the country. This year, the artists will do more than 60 shows, according to Kaylan.

Joining Flo & Eddie on the tour this year are Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys, mid-1960s pop star; Detroit’s own Mitch Ryder and his soulful ’60s sound; Mark Farner, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Grand Funk Railroad in the early 1970s; and Chuck Negron, formerly of ’70s’ hitmakers Three Dog Night.

Interviews with Kaylan and Negron are featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues.” Kaylan was a particularly good interview, detailing the southern California music scene in the early 1970s for the chapter on Flo & Eddie.

Collectively, we may be too old to rush the stage anymore – nobody wants to see anybody break a hip – but that doesn’t mean we can’t still rock out. In fact, the crowd was able to stand through the entire three minutes or so of the tour’s namesake song, “Happy Together,” which was the Turtles’ only No. 1 single and in fact knocked the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” out of the Billboard Hot 100 top spot, staying at No. 1 for three weeks in 1967.

I love Gary Lewis’ hits, most notably the No. 1 “This Diamond Ring,” the No. 3 “She’s Just My Style,” and the No. 4 “Everybody Loves a Clown,” all from 1965. That was a good year to be Gary Lewis. And he still does a good job with those songs today.

Mitch Ryder’s music never much appealed to me, although I do like one of his songs, his No. 4 hit from 1966, “Devil With A Blue Dress On.” Ryder was, however, entertaining in his between-song banter and was engaging with the crowd. At one point, he even sold the fact that former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman was in the audience, but it was all a ruse to set up a joke.

Three Dog Night has always been one of my favorite bands from the 1970s, and Negron can still sing, although he did not perform my favorite Three Dog Night tune, “An Old-fashioned Love Song.” He was also gracious enough to give a shoutout to his former bandmates Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, Jimmy Greenspoon, the late Joe Schermie, Mike Allsup and Floyd Sneed. Why Negron, Hutton and Wells – the core lead singers for Three Dog Night during the band’s heyday, don’t tour together now is anyone’s guess. Certainly there is history there, but if the Beach Boys can reunite for an anniversary tour, maybe Three Dog Night can as well.

But the highlight of the show for me was Grand Funk Railroad’s Farner. He’s still got rock star written all over him. His voice is still strong, the guitar playing is still excellent and his stage presence – complete with Mick Jagger-esque prancing – is still entertaining.

After the show, Farner even took some time to sign autographs for a couple of dozen fans or so outside the theater. Volman also came out to interact with fans. There was no sign of Kaylan, although I didn’t hang around for more than 20 minutes. He may have eventually come out. Negron, Ryder and Lewis were all escorted to a waiting van by security and didn’t interact with the fans.

It was an entertaining show. The fact that I got through it without breaking a hip was gravy.

Hall & Oates leave them wanting more at the Borgata

By Mike Morsch

On June 22, 2014

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

You know that old adage, “Always leave them wanting more?” I’m pretty sure that just about everyone in the sold-out Borgata ballroom in Atlantic City Friday night, June 20, 2014, would have been happy to sit there for a few more hours and listen to Hall & Oates.

The recently inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers performed a tight, 90-minute set, that included two encores, and certainly left me wanting more.

The thing that strikes me about Daryl and John at this stage of their careers is that they genuinely seem to still be enjoying what they do. And, no breaking news here: they’re very good at it.

Of course, all the hits were there:

“Maneater” – No. 1 from the “H2O” album (1982).
“Out of Touch” – No. 1 from “Big Bam Boom” (1984).
“Do It For Love” – No. 114 (and should have been higher) from “Do It For Love” (2002).
“She’s Gone” – No. 7 (Editorial comment: How can this not be a No. 1 song?) from “Abandoned Luncheonette (1973).
“Sara Smile” – No. 4 (Editorial comment: How can this not be a No. 1 song?) from “Daryl Hall and John Oates” (1976).
“Do What You Want, Be What You Are” – No. 39 from “Bigger Than Both of Us” (1976).
“I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” – No. 1 from “Private Eyes” (1981).
“Rich Girl” – No. 1 from “Bigger Than Both of Us” (1976).
“You Make My Dreams” – No. 5 (Editorial comment: How can this not be a No. 1 song?) from “Voices” (1980).
“Kiss on My List” – No. 1 from “Voices” (1980).
“Private Eyes” – No. 1 from “Private Eyes” (1981).

But the highlight of any Hall & Oates concert for me is anything they do from the “Abandoned Luncheonette” album. Friday night’s performance of “She’s Gone,” a song they admit they’ve played at every show for the past 40 years or so, was outstanding. As good as that song is on the record, it was simply chill-inducing to hear live at the Borgata.

The other song from “Abandoned Luncheonette” in the set list was the Oates-penned “Las Vegas Turnaround.” It’s become a favorite of mine because of the backstory that John tells about the genesis of the song, a story that’s retold in the “Abandoned Luncheonette” chapter of “The Vinyl Dialogues.”

The song is kind of a prequel to another famous Hall & Oates song that would be written by the duo and released in 1976, three years after “Las Vegas Turnaround.” If you’ve read the book or know the story, don’t give out any spoilers. If you don’t know the story, pick up a copy of “The Vinyl Dialogues.” I’m biased, but it’s the coolest story in a book full of cool stories about memorable albums of the 1970s.

So here’s my idea to enhance the Hall & Oates experience, and it’s completely selfish from a fan’s viewpoint: Make the first hour of a Hall & Oates show the “All The Hits Hour.” Add another hour to the show, and call it the “Deep Album Cuts” hour (I’ll take “When The Morning Comes” and “Had I Known You Better Then” from “Abandoned Luncheonette” as well as “Camellia” from the 1975 “Daryl Hall & John Oates” album.)

Then after a couple of encores, bring three chairs on stage – one for Daryl, one for John and one for me – and I’ll interview them. Then we’ll all go for beer afterwards. All 5,000 of us. We’ll let Todd Rundgren pick up the tab as payback for overproducing “War Babies” and making it sound like a Todd Rundgren album.

Just a thought. But that sure would eliminate the whole “leave them wanting more” thing, huh?

Roger McGuinn’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ a classic

By Mike Morsch

On June 13, 2014

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds played a solo gig June 12, 2014, at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA.

Hearing Brian Wilson sing “Surfer Girl” in concert.

Listening to America’s Gerry Beckley from the fifth row as he sings “Sister Golden Hair. ”

Seeing Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers rock out to “China Grove.”

Hearing great songs in person sung in their original versions by the artists who made them famous has always appealed to me. And now I can cross another one off my list: Hearing Roger McGuinn of The Byrds sing “Mr. Tambourine Man” in person.

I know it’s a Bob Dylan song. And certainly one can argue that hearing Bob Dylan sing it would be hearing “Mr. Tambourine Man” in its original form. Dylan released the song in March 1965 and The Byrds’ version was released in April 1965.

But it’s the harmonies of McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby – and the birth of what we now know as “folk rock” – on The Byrds version of the song that I remember from my childhood.

So it was a real kick to hear McGuinn sing it Thursday, June 12, 2014, at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, nearly 50 years after the song was first released by The Byrds.

These days, it’s just McGuinn and his guitars on stage. And that’s enough. He did two, 45-minutes sets at the Colonial. McGuinn is a great storyteller, and not only with his song lyrics. Throughout the performance he prefaced almost every song with a story explaining the genesis of the song. To me, that’s gold for those artists who have been around for decades – to mix in the actual history of the songs that have become historic.

That’s the premise behind “The Vinyl Dialogues” – to get the accurate historical details and perspectives about albums and songs directly from the artists who made that history.

It would be great to get McGuinn on the record for Volume II of “The Vinyl Dialogues.” I like his 1976 solo album, “Cardiff Rose.”

McGuinn was just coming off Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour in 1975 and I’ve love to hear the details of the creative process that he was experiencing in the lead-up to the making and release of “Cardiff Rose.” McGuinn touched on that a little bit when he told a story during the Colonial performance about how he got Joni Mitchell’s song “Dreamland” to include on “Cardiff Rose.”

Living, breathing rock and roll history in a live concert. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Unless you’ve got the vinyl, of course.

A special kiss, courtesy of Three Dog Night

By Mike Morsch

On June 10, 2014

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

The only known picture to exist of Mike and Sue as members of the prom court at the 1976 junior/senior prom at Pekin Community High School.

It wasn’t my first kiss, but it was a special kiss.

In the spring of 1976, I was the 17-year-old president of the junior class at Pekin Community High School in central Illinois.

One of my “duties” — in addition to running around being a teenage goof-off — was to help plan the junior-senior prom.
For the record, I was much better at goofing off than I was at planning a prom.

Three Dog Night had split up by 1976 but I was still a big fan in those days, despite having never had the chance to see the band perform in concert.

My big contribution to the prom that year was pushing for “An Old Fashioned Love Song” — written by Paul Williams and made into a hit by Three Dog Night — to be the theme of the dance. As class president with hip Elvis sideburns and a puka shell necklace, I apparently exhibited enough charm with the female members of the prom committee to get my wish on the prom theme.

I was also fortunate to have been elected to the prom court that year — a goof-off with Elvis sideburns who wore a puka shell necklace apparently also held some sway with the voting block of students — and it was as a member of the prom court that provided the backdrop for the unexpected and special kiss.

My escort for the prom court introductions was Sue Brown. As we waited to be introduced to the student body that evening, Sue and I stood there, her arm in mine, and our eyes met.

And we kissed. It was more than a peck, but it wasn’t a passionate kiss, it wasn’t a long kiss. Sue didn’t happen to be my date for the evening — oops — but I sure do remember that kiss, even all these years later. It happened just as “An Old Fashioned Love Song” began to play on the school sound system to kick off the prom court introductions.

I saw Sue Brown — she’s married now with a different last name — only once in the next 38 years. She happened to be a teacher at the elementary school that my niece and nephew attended and we sat together at a basketball game and chit-chatted for a bit.

The prom night kiss from years earlier never came up.

In 2012, I published my first book, “Dancing in My Underwear: The Soundtrack of My Life,” a memoir about growing up with the music of the 1960s and 1970s, and I planned a book signing event in my hometown of Pekin, Illinois.

A few weeks before the event, during a phone call with my sister Casey, she told me that she had seen Sue at the grocery store and had invited her to the event. Sue said she would attend.

“Hey, Sue Brown is going to be at the book-signing event in Pekin,” I said to my wife, who had heard the prom night story and was familiar with the particulars. “You know, if she shows up, I’m going to have to kiss her.”

My wife’s reaction was predictable: “I don’t think so, pal.”

The book-signing event went off without a hitch, with one exception: Sue Brown was a no-show.

But every time I hear Three Dog Night’s “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” it takes me back to that evening of the junior prom in 1976, back to standing next to Sue Brown, styling and profiling in that powder blue tuxedo and felt bow tie that I was sporting, right to that moment when our lips met and created a personal teenage memory that I’ll never forget.

“An Old Fashioned Love Song” was indeed “one I’m sure they wrote for you and me.”

Or at least for Sue Brown and me.

Lunch with Annie Haslam of Renaissance

By Mike Morsch

On June 2, 2014

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Annie Haslam tells a story in “The Vinyl Dialogues” that involves flying potatoes, white pants and a British a cappella group named The King’s Singers.

It’s a pretty funny story.

So when I had lunch recently with the lead singer of the band Renaissance at a quaint little place called the Vintage Grille in Doylestown, PA, I was keeping a wary eye on what she was going to order.

Annie ordered a breakfast plate, which included fried potatoes cut into squares. Fortunately, I had the good sense to not wear white pants to that lunch. One never knows which establishments these days serve the flying potatoes.

It was the first time I had met the wonderfully charming Haslam. Our telephone interview for the book in March 2013 was about her recollections and memories of the Renaissance album “Scheherazade and Other Stories,” released in 1975.

Still a head-turner at age . . . well, even though she told me how old she was – without me asking, by the way – I’m not going to reveal it here. It’s not the gentlemanly thing to do, and there are so few of us left.

We talked about a lot of things over the course of an hour, including the state of our world (she’s a strict environmentalist). I loved listening to her stories about the music of the 1970s and the music business in general.

Annie lived the music history of the 1970s. She’s still making music and she has for several years had a second career as a painter. She added that she has no intention of writing a book about her life because she likes to look forward and not backward.

It was a delightful visit with an artist who is as down-to-earth as a fan like me could hope.

And I’m happy to report that I did not get hit with one flying potato.

You can get the latest on Annie and her career at www.anniehaslam.com. For the latest news on Renaissance, go to www.renaissancetouring.com.

Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists

Month: June 2014

Daryl Hall, Amos Lee and Mutlu: ‘I’m in a Philly Mood’

Grand Funk’s Mark Farner rocks the ‘Happy Together’ lineup

Hall & Oates leave them wanting more at the Borgata

Roger McGuinn’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ a classic

A special kiss, courtesy of Three Dog Night

Lunch with Annie Haslam of Renaissance