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

Month: August 2019

Mutlu’s new album ‘Good Trouble’ a thought-provoking smooth groove

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu tackles some thought-provoking topics in his new album "Good Trouble."

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu tackles some thought-provoking topics in his new album “Good Trouble.”

Mutlu is getting into a little good trouble.

The Philadelphia singer-songwriter — who has written, recorded and opened for the likes of Philly icons Daryl Hall and John Oates as well as Amos Lee — can lay claim with his silk-like vocals to being part of the next generation of The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP).

But his latest album is a little different. Titled “Good Trouble,” it’s got an edge. And that’s exactly how he wanted it. The title of the album was inspired by a term used by Georgia Congressman and civil right icon John Lewis, who uses it in the context of facing confrontation and pushback for his views. 

Sure, its got the usual smooth groove and natural storytelling that has come to define Mutlu’s music. But “Good Trouble” takes it to a different level, tackling thought-provoking topics like societal change, inequality, depression and hardship. 

“My previous records were a more subtle stream of consciousness, where I maybe had a bit of commentary. But it was more veiled and poetic,” said Mutlu in a recent interview. “This is the first time that I’ve purposely been overtly political on a few songs. It’s one thing to go rant online, but I’m still a musician at the end of the day. How can I channel that into the next record?”

The result is that “Good Trouble” ends up being a cross-section of the personal and political, and features a trilogy of songs that tackle the difficulties that many people face in their everyday life.

They include the first three tracks of the album: “Lifeline,” which represents the more hopeful side of things; “Not Escapable,” that describes the exhaustion, frustration, anger and hopelessness that can overwhelm some people; and “95 to 5,” which addresses the wealth gap that seems to be getting worse.

"Good Trouble" is available now. Go to www.mutlusounds.com for details.

“Good Trouble” is available now. Go to www.mutlusounds.com for details.

Also different this time is the way Mutlu approached the making of “Good Trouble.” Once again teaming up with co-producer and co-writer on some of the songs Darius Amendolia, the two decided to to take some time with the preproduction aspects and development of the album’s arc.

“Before we even started recording, I felt like I knew we were doing what we wanted to do because we had such a road map of the songs,” said Mutlu. “With some of my previous EPs, we sort of hadn’t done as much pre-production. This time, it was just a matter of going into the studio and executing it. I don’t think I’ve ever literally thought of the arc of an album song by song from start to finish. I don’t think I was ever as deliberate in mapping out the arc beforehand. And once I stepped back and listened to what we had, I said yeah, this is the kind of thing I wanted to express.”

The album isn’t without it’s Philly soul vibe. The song “Nothing in This Whole Wide World,” is a collaboration with John Oates and channels what was being done by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff  at Philadelphia International Records in the infancy of TSOP in the 1970s, when artists like The O’Jays, The Stylistics, The Three Degree and Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes were establishing that Philly sound.

Oates co-produced track with Hall & Oates guitarist Shane Theriot and it includes H&O band members Brian Dunne on drums and Klyde Jones on bass.

“Working with Daryl and John over the years has been a dream come true,” said Mutlu. “Getting to be on Daryl’s show (“Live From Daryl’s House”) and getting to sing with John at his shows and on tour with Hall & Oates, there were a number of times when John and I would talk about writing something together.”

Even though “Nothing in This Whole Wide World” was recorded and released a couple of years ago, it fit into the arc of the “Good Trouble” album. 

“That song wasn’t written with the other songs (for the “Good Trouble” album), but it was also deliberate,” said Mutlu. “We were channeling this Spinners thing, that hybrid of grit and smoothness. We sat down and in a couple of hours, that song just came together. It was so much fun sitting with John and a couple of guitars. It was effortless.”

Admittedly, Mutlu takes seriously his role as the next generation of TSOP.

“I do feel that’s a responsibility, to push that sound, that vibe, that emotion — and everything that goes into that,” he said. “I do worry sometimes, do the younger people really know this music? Do they know about The Stylistics, The Three Degrees, The O’Jays, the list goes on and on. Do they really know that catalog? I think it’s important to keep the visibility of that sound and that music out there. It’s a huge part of American pop music history.” 

Mutlu is currently on tour in support of “Good Trouble.” He already made stops in Knoxville, TN; Durham, NC; Decatur, GA; and New York City. The tour continues stops at the Club Passim in Cambridge, MA, on Aug. 29; The Soundry in Columbia, MD, Aug. 30; Daryl’s House in Pawlings, NY, Sept. 8; World Cafe Live in Philadelphia Sept. 13; and Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sept. 29. And on Sept. 26, he’ll open for Hall & Oates at the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, AR. For more information go to www.mutlusounds.com.

“The reaction has been great,” said Mutlu. “That’s the most rewarding part, to put the music out and then go and play and get the feedback from the people and see that they’re connecting with the music.”

‘Stairway to Heaven’ is nowhere near the greatest makeout song ever

Peter Beckett of Player, center, rocks out to "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin, during the encore with Elliot Lurie, left, and John Ford Coley, right, at the Yacht Rock 2019 show Aug. 23 at the Borgata in Atlantic City.  (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Peter Beckett of Player, center, rocks out to “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin, during the encore with Elliot Lurie, left, and John Ford Coley, right, at the Yacht Rock 2019 show Aug. 23 at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

I do not like the music of Led Zeppelin. I never have. 

It all goes back to when I was a teenager in the 1970s. I had a girlfriend who liked to make out to Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” I was 16 years old, just starting to car date, and was dealing with raging hormones that many of us were experiencing at that age. I liked making out with her. I just didn’t like making out to “Stairway to Heaven.”

I had no interest in Zeppelin’s music then, and that’s the way it is now, some 40-plus years later. Sure, I know a couple of their tunes, and can probably sing a couple of verses to some of their songs. But I do not have any Zeppelin in my vinyl or CD collections and don’t plan on adding any.

But the discussion over whether “Stairway to Heaven” is the “greatest makeout song ever” still follows me today. It just so happens that The Blonde Accountant considers it at the top of the list of makeout songs.

“How can you not like making out to a long song like ‘Stairway to Heaven?’” she will say to me. “It’s the greatest makeout song ever.”

Elliot Luris of Looking Glass, the writer and lead singer of the iconic hit "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)." (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Elliot Luris of Looking Glass, the writer and lead singer of the iconic hit “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl).”
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

I may be old, but I’m not dead. I still like making out. But “Stairway to Heaven” is not the greatest makeout song ever. It is, however, the greatest impotence-inducing song ever.

Oddly enough, it is in this context that we attended the Yacht Rock 2019 show at the Borgata in Atlantic City Aug. 23. The show featured Walter Egan (“Magnet and Steel”); Elliot Lurie of Looking Glass (“Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl”); John Ford Coley of England Dan and John Ford Coley; Peter Beckett of Player (“Baby Come Back”); and Ambrosia, which backed all the other artists that evening, in addition to performing their greatest hits.

I can say without question that there are at least three songs from the artists in that group that are better makeout songs than “Stairway to Heaven”: the aforementioned “Baby Come Back” by Player; “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” by England Dan and John Ford Coley; and “How Much I Feel” by Ambrosia. 

In fact, I can make the case that this group of artists has even more songs that are better makeout songs than “Stairway to Heaven.” Walter Egan wrote “Magnet and Steel” because of his infatuation with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks. Ambrosia’s “You’re the Only Woman (You and I)” and Player’s “This Time I’m in it For Love” fall into that category. I’d put “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne” and “Nights Are Forever Without You” by England Dan and John Ford Coley on the list of songs I’d make out to before “Stairway to Heaven.”

John Ford Coley, of England Dan and John Ford Coley. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

John Ford Coley, of England Dan and John Ford Coley.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

And we heard all of those songs Saturday night. If I was ever going to be in the mood to make out, it would have been after that setlist.

Now there is another aspect of this story that ties it all together. Within the past year, I have taken to rushing the stage at some concerts. To clarify, I don’t actually “rush” the stage at this age. I kind of limp and stumble my way down to the front of the stage. I had never gone down to the stage for all these years, content to stand at my seat for encores. But I’ve had some seats recently that have allowed me easy access to the stage and I have taken advantage of that. It gets you up close and personal with the artists and I can shake a little booty more freely without being boxed in by my row. Plus it makes for some great photo opportunities, which I can use in the next volume of The Vinyl Dialogues. 

Because our seats were in the sixth row for the Yacht Rock show, I had to only get past two people to the aisle, where I could step-and-a-half it the 25 or so feet to the stage. Which is exactly what I did.

Walter Egan, who wrote the hit single "Magnet and Steel," that was inspired by Stevie Nicks. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Walter Egan, who wrote the hit single “Magnet and Steel,” that was inspired by Stevie Nicks.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

“C’mon, let’s rush the stage,” I said to TBA. She declined to join me. 

For the final song of the evening, all the artists reappeared together to perform . . . “Rock and Roll.” By Led Zeppelin. To close a yacht rock show. Go figure.

Certainly I had heard the song and was familiar with it. I just didn’t know the name of the song or that it was a Zeppelin tune. Still, I rocked out with the rest of stage rushers. 

“I just want you to know that you rushed the stage for a Led Zeppelin song,” said TBA after the show, as I hummed the song all the way back to the parking garage.

I know, I know. The irony was not lost on me. But it didn’t change the fact that “Stairway to Heaven” is nowhere near close to being the “greatest makeout song ever.”

Ambrosia, featuring original bassist Joe Puerta, right. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Ambrosia, featuring original bassist Joe Puerta, right.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

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