Tag: America

Generally, there’s no such thing as a bad concert, and 2019 was no exception. While my criteria for what’s constitutes a good concert experience changes a bit from show to show — the location of my seat, the ticket price, whether I got to go to the meet-and-greet, the quality of the photos I get — I can usually find a lot of things I like about a show.

I couldn’t limit the list to the Top 10 shows of 2019, so I made it Top 11 this year. Really, all the concerts were very good, it’s just that these were just a little bit better.

11. Steely Dan — The Met/Philly (Nov. 9) — There was a lot right and a few things wrong for me at this show. First and foremost, the music was brilliant, Donald Fagen can still deliver the goods, and his band is nothing short of outstanding. And while the historic venue is something to behold and a nice place to see a concert, the fact that there is little parking nearby and the overly aggressive ushers on prohibiting photos really took away from this show and explains the reason for the rank. But boy, what a catalog of great songs performed with master musicianship.

Original members of Three Dog Night, Michael Allsup and Danny Hutton.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

10. Three Dog Night — American Music Theatre/Lancaster, PA — (Sept. 22) — There are only two original members left — vocalist Danny Hutton and guitarist Michael Allsup — but they still sound like classic TDN. The band’s library of hits includes some of my favorite songs from the 1970s. And the American Music Theater is a great place to see a show. The seats are wide and comfortable and the leg room between rows is plentiful. Plus I went down to the stage, something I’ve just started doing in the past year if the opportunity presents itself, for the encore, “Joy to the World.”

9. Gary Clark Jr. — Ryman Auditorium/Nashville, TN (March 7) — I was unfamiliar with Clark’s music and my pal Jared Bilski invited me to this show when we were in Nashville for a work conference. Once the show started, I became an immediate fan of Clark’s music. Of course, being in the historic Ryman was a treat, despite the hard church pew bench seating in the balcony. The no-photo policy always annoys me, and this was no exception in that regard. Clark is a tremendous guitarist and can sing. I’d go see him again. I loved Nashville and I’d like to sit downstairs at the Ryman the next time.

8. Dan May — Sellersville Theater/Sellersville, PA — (July 5) — Dan’s shows are always wonderfully entertaining and his songwriting is brilliant. The venue is where we first discovered Dan’s music when he opened for Crystal Gayle, so we always try to see him there. In recent years, Dan has added storytelling segments to his shows, reading chapters from his books, and I really enjoy that. There isn’t a better night of music and entertainment than the Philadelphia-based local musician and his band.

Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley of America.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

7. America — Penn’s Peak/Jim Thorpe, PA — (Aug. 17) — Given my well-chronicled affinity for what is one of my favorite bands of all-time, you might be surprised at this ranking. I see this show every time I can and will continue to do so for as long as I’m able. Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley still sound great, they do all the hits and the venue offers some great seat options, great prices and a spectacular view of the Poconos.

J.D Malone and Tommy Geddes.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

6. J.D Malone and the Experts — Steel City Coffeehouse/Phoenixville, PA — (March 16) — Intimate venue, high-energy show where the artists come out and greet the fans personally before the show. Another full night of entertaining music for the ticket price by another Philadelphia-area artist. J.D’s songwriting is undeniably wonderful and he always looks like he’s enjoying himself up there on stage. That’s contagious for the audience and it returns the love.

Left to right, Elliot Lurie of Looking Glass, Peter Beckett of Player and John Ford Coley.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

5. Rock the Yacht, featuring Elliot Lurie of Looking Glass, Peter Beckett of Player, Ambrosia, John Ford Coley and Walter Egan/The Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ — (Aug. 23) — A very yacht rocky lineup of many of my favorite artists of the 1970s. They all still sound great and we had great seats at a reasonable price. In addition to the show, a highlight of the evening was before the show, where we had the opportunity to meet and have dinner with Elliot Lurie, who wrote “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl),” one of the most iconic songs of the 1970s. A personable and friendly gent, I had interviewed Elliot for “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume IV: From Studio to Stylus” after connecting with him on Facebook. It was a thrill for me to meet the guy who wrote one of the songs to the soundtrack of my life. After that, the concert was gravy.

Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith of The Monkees.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

4. The Monkees — Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA — (March 6) — There’s only two of them left — Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith — but they still sounded like The Monkees. This was a rescheduled show from 2018 when Nesmsith fell ill on the stage of the Keswick during sound check and eventually needed heart surgery. But the duo put on a great show and gave us a little slice of our childhood back for one evening.

Daryl Hall and John Oates.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

3. Daryl Hall and John Oates — Allentown Fairgrounds, Allentown, PA — (Sept. 1) — This show could have been ranked lower because I’ve seen them so many times, but it’s not because Hall & Oates are just that damn good. An outdoor show on wooden chairs at a fairgrounds can present some challenges, but the weather held. Allentown is close enough to home turf for Daryl and John, and they always seem to be comfortable on their home field. We’ve seen this show many times, and it’s always ridiculously solid. The band is tight, tight, tight. The catalog of hits is undeniable. There have been times when I’ve hoped for some deeper cuts in the setlist, but John has told me in more than one interview that they feel obligated to the fans to play the hits. These guys are as good now as they ever were and we’re lucky that they’re still out there sharing their music with us.

2. Lionel Richie, Hard Rock Cafe, Atlantic City, NJ — (March 23) — This high ranking shows just how good a showman, entertainer and singer Lionel Richie is because I absolutely dislike this venue. The room is just full of bad angles, many of the seats are too far from the stage and it has a no-photos policy, which will always rub me the wrong way. But Richie can sing, he’s so personable on stage, and there’s no denying the great catalog of music. This is one where I wish I would have been sitting closer but the ticket prices were prohibitive for those seats. I’d go see him again in a heartbeat.

Little Steven Van Zandt and the Disciples of Soul.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

1. Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul — Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA — (July 20) — All the stars lined up perfectly for this show, which is why is takes the top spot. I went by myself, which isn’t my preference, but I got a ticket for $79.50 right in the front row. The Disciples of Soul rocked the house, Little Steven was all Little Steven and more, I love his music and I was in the catbird seat for photos, which Stevie himself encourages people to take. There’s always that slight chance that Bruce Springsteen is going to show up unannounced at an East Coast Steveie show, but that didn’t happen at this one. At one point Stevie stuck the mic in my face so I could sing a little — not a really good idea — but I wasn’t familiar enough with the lyrics of the song, so I shit down my leg and had to mush-mouthed it. He looked at me like, WTF man. But it was a tremendous amount of fun and I got some outstanding photos. If the opportunity presents itself, always sit in the front row when you can.

When you get caught between America and Christopher Cross, the best that you can do is fall in love with the music

By Mike Morsch

On January 29, 2017

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Christopher Cross
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

There’s a lot to like about Christopher Cross, not the least of which is that I once used one of his songs to impress my then 10-year-old daughter.

My daughters grew up on my music – the Beach Boys, Hall & Oates, America, the Doobie Brothers, Three Dog Night. But like all of us, they eventually developed their own musical tastes and starting following the bands of their era.

In 1997, the boy band NSYNC invaded our family’s musical sensibilities. The 10-year-old girl in our house had a Beatles-like fanaticism for the boys – Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass. And like our parents did for us and our music, we bought her the debut self-titled NSYNC album on cassette tape.

You remember cassettes, right? They were the preferred technology of listening to music for a time between 8-track tapes and CDs. And our car then, a Toyota Corolla, was equipped with a cassette player. So every time we got into the car, the NSYNC cassette tape went with us.

The first time that happened, it was Christopher Cross that helped me be the “cool dad.” On that first album, NSYNC covered “Sailing,” a No. 1 hit for Cross off his 1980 debut album. The song won Grammy awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Arrangement of the Year and helped Cross win the Best New Artist award that year.

It’s a great song. From my era. And I knew all the lyrics. So when the NSYNC version came on the car sound system, my wife and I started singing along with the song.

“Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be.
Just a dream and the wind to carry me.
And soon I will be free.”

And from the back seat, we heard an excited little voice: “Mom! Dad! You know all the words to an NSYNC song?”

Gerry Beckley
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Why yes, yes we do. We are just that cool.

It took us a while to explain to her that it was a Christopher Cross song and not an NSYNC song. But once she understood that some artists cover other artists’ songs – especially the really good songs – she became a Christopher Cross fan and has been ever since. (Full disclosure: And I’ve been an NSYNC fan ever since.)

That memory flooded my head and heart Saturday night as I heard Christopher Cross sing “Sailing” for the first time live at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA.

Cross was on the bill as special guest of the headliner America. It was a wheelhouse concert for me because America is a large part of the soundtrack of my life. I’ve interviewed Dewey Bunnell several times over the years and his recollections about the making of the 1974 album “Holiday” and the 1975 album “Hearts” are featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume I” and “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle” respectively. In addition, Dewey’s recollections on the story behind the hit single “A Horse With No Name” is one of the best read columns on The Vinyl Dialogues website. You can read it here: https://vinyldialogues.com/VinylDialoguesBlog/the-story-behind-a-horse-with-no-name-straight-from-the-horses-mouth/

Dewey Bunnell
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, who along with then bandmate, the late Dan Peek, wrote and recorded some of the best music of the 1970s – with help from legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin – sound as good today as they did then. America is a band that I’ll go see every single time they perform close to where I live. Reiterate: Every. Single. Time. They’re just still that good.

But is was Cross who stole the show for me Saturday night because it was the first time I had seen him perform live. He sang all the hits – “Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind,” “Arthur’s Theme” and “Think of Laura.”

Here’s the thing about Christopher Cross: The guy doesn’t have a bad song. It doesn’t matter if his songs are hits or deep cuts, they’re all just really good songs. And his voice is simply beautiful, as much so now as it was in 1980 on his first album. Not to overstate it, but any discussion about the great voices and songwriters of our era should include this guy.

America and Christopher Cross on the same bill. If that ever happens again, buy a ticket for whatever it costs and fall in love with the music all over again. This show certainly furthered the claim that our generation had the best bands and the best music.

The story behind ‘A Horse With No Name,” straight from the horse’s mouth

By Mike Morsch

On July 23, 2015

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Dewey Bunnell of the band America wrote and sang lead on the song “A Horse With No Name.”
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

There’s a sign that makes the rounds on Facebook that frequently gets posted to my timeline. It reads: “All I’m saying is, at any point during that ride through the desert, he could have given that horse a name.”

The reference is, of course, to the song “A Horse With No Name” by the band America. My friends know I am a longtime fan of the band, so that’s why this sign is frequently posted on my Facebook page.

It turns out, though, that I have a little insight on this, thanks to the guy who wrote it.

The song was written by Dewey Bunnell, who along with Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek, founded the band America in 1970. Its self-titled debut album, released in 1971, didn’t initially contain the song. But after “A Horse With No Name,” which featured Bunnell on lead vocals as well, became a hit and went all the way to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, the “America” album was re-released in 1972 with the track.

But the controversy surrounding the song wasn’t that the horse didn’t have a name, it was that some radio stations refused to play it because of its supposed references to heroin use. “Horse” is a slang term for heroin.

I first interviewed Bunnell in 2006, and subsequently two more times over the years: once about the 1974 album “Holiday,” which is featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues,” and again recently about the making of the 1975 album “Hearts,” which will be detailed in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle,” due to be released in August 2015.

And straight from the horse’s mouth, you might say, Bunnell has told me that “A Horse With No Name” is not about drugs.

“Not at all. It actually has changed a little bit in my mind as the decades have gone by,” said Bunnell in the 2006 interview.

“The central theme [of the song] was ‘solitary thinking in a peaceful place.’ The horse was really just a vehicle to get out there. I always loved the desert as a kid. ‘The heat was hot’ was an important feeling that I was trying to re-create there. [The song] was just a travelogue with an environmental message in there about saving the planet,” said Bunnell.

Bunnell said that when the band shot the cover for its third album “Hat Trick,” which was released in 1973, the photo shoot did include horses and band members did go out into the desert for a couple days to get some shots.

“We had fun, but I don’t recall the name of the horse I rode while I was out there,” said Bunnell. “A lot of horse people think I have a real working knowledge of the animal, but I don’t.”

So there you have it. Even when Dewey Bunnell had the chance to actually ride a horse in the desert, he still didn’t give it a name.

Next time I talk to Dewey, I’ll have to ask him flat out if in subsequent years, he’s ever thought if that horse he wrote about has a name.

The Beach Boys and America: As close to a perfect evening as possible

By Mike Morsch

On April 21, 2015

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys performs at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

While waiting for the Beach Boys/America concert to start in the ballroom of the Borgata in Atlantic City Saturday evening, April 18, a little old lady came in and sat down beside me.

I don’t think she was from Pasadena. Atlantic City is, after all, a long way from California. (Beach Boys fans will get that joke.)

She was quiet throughout the hourlong set by America – Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley – who sound as good today as they did 40 years ago when they were making their fifth studio album, “Hearts,” which will be featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle.”

America has always been one of my favorite bands, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to see them live. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe how good these guys are and how much I love their songs. So it’s no surprise to say that I enjoyed their performance.

When America finished its set, closing with “A Horse With No Name,” the first hit single for the band, which was released in 1971, the little old lady turned to me and said, “Was that the Beach Boys? Is that all?”

I explained to her that it was the band America that we had just seen and that the Beach Boys would be coming out next.
“Oh, I wasn’t sure. Those guys didn’t sound like the Beach Boys,” she said.

After the Borgata show, we got to meet Bruce. That’s daughter Kiley, Bruce and the author.

No, they didn’t sound like the Beach Boys to me either. For one thing, they’re younger, a joke that Beach Boys frontman Mike Love made himself later in the show. But Bunnell will tell you that he and Beckley love the Beach Boys, that they did influence America and that members of the two bands have been friends for decades and have performed on the same bill many times over the years.

The Beach Boys and America – they are the fabric of American music – provided much of the soundtrack of my life when I was growing up in the Midwest in the 1960s and 1970s.

This was a special concert for me for a couple of other reasons as well. I was accompanied by my oldest daughter, Kiley, who grew up with this music. We have a special bond that is linked in part by Beach Boys music. I did feel somewhat bad stealing her away from her husband on a Saturday night, but only for a little bit. From a selfish standpoint, she’s still my little girl. But as an adult, she’s great to hang with and she appreciates the music.

Dewey Bunnell, left, and Gerry Beckley of the band America sound just as good today as they did in the 1970s.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

It was also a special evening because we were the guests of Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys. Bruce provided a great interview in “The Vinyl Dialogues” detailing his role as producer of David Cassidy’s first two solo albums after Cassidy’s TV show “The Partridge Family” had ended its run. I hope to interview Bruce again for Volume II, this time about a Beach Boys album.

It wasn’t the first time I had met Bruce. In 1986 at a Beach boys concert in Rockford, Illinois, I was part of a media contingent invited to a pre-concert “Beach Party.” Bruce was the only band member to appear at the event, so he was inundated by the media. There is a photo of me standing next to Bruce, pen and reporter’s notebook in hand, and sporting a full head of curly hair.

The Beach Boys themselves – the Mike Love/Bruce Johnston group – still rock. There is still an energy coming from the stage that can make one forget that these guys are in their 70s and that they’ve been doing this for more than 50 years.

For the record, I don’t get into all that offstage Beach Boys hoo-ha. I love Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and that band. And I love Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and that band. I loved that they were all together for a series of 50th anniversary shows a few years ago and that I got to see one of those shows with my daughter.

But for me, it’s only about the music and what it means to me.

We were fortunate to meet Bruce after the show. He was gracious, signed a few autographs – including the photo of him and I from 1986 – posed for a photo and chatted a bit.

“I’ve been coming to Beach Boys concerts since I was three years old,” my daughter said to him.
“Me too,” said Bruce.

It was as close to a perfect evening as it could be.

Oh, and the little old lady? Without saying a word, she just got up and left about two-thirds of the way through the Beach Boys’ set.

Maybe she was headed back to Pasadena after all and wanted to get ahead of the traffic.

Search for elusive vinyl ends with a deflating ‘Conrad’ moment

By Mike Morsch

On February 22, 2015

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

The album “The Morning After,” by Maureen McGovern, was released in 1973.

One of the enjoyable aspects of starting a vinyl collection well into adulthood is the thrill of the hunt. That is, as long as some jamoke named Conrad doesn’t mess up the experience.

I like to go to the various used records stores in my part of the world – suburban Philadelphia – and spend some time rummaging through the endless discount bins for certain albums. Usually, I’m looking for an album that I’m writing about, either one that appeared in The Vinyl Dialogues or one that’s going to be featured in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II.

It’s a relaxing way to kill and hour or two on the weekend, if one has the patience – as well as a good back and legs – to stand there and sift through album after album looking for that buried treasure.

On my most recent excursion, I was searching for the 1973 album “The

This album used to belong to somebody named “Conrad,” who felt it necessary more than 40 years ago to sign it.

Morning After” by Maureen McGovern. I had interviewed Ms. McGovern for an upcoming show she was doing in New Hope, PA, and during that interview, I gathered enough of her recollections to make a chapter about the album for The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II.

So off I went to The Rock Shop in Plymouth Meeting, PA, which has a nice selection at reasonable prices. Another thing I like about going to used record stores is that – to nobody’s surprise – there’s usually a turntable playing records, which provides a soundtrack for the search. On this day, the classic album of choice was “Before the Flood,” by Bob Dylan and The Band, a live album recorded during a 1974 American tour.

That’s a really good choice for perusing vinyl.

I went through bins of records for an hour-and-a-half. Among those I pulled out was one that I hadn’t yet found from The Vinyl Dialogues, “Tarkio” by Brewer and Shipley from 1970; two from Hall & Oates, “Along the Red Ledge (1978) and “X-Static” (1979); two from America, “Heart” (1975) and “Hideaway” (1976); “Golden Bisquits” by Three Dog Night (1971); and “Whistling Down the Wire” by David Crosby and Graham Nash (1976).

Even though I found albums from just about every female singer-songwriter of the 1970s – Carole King, Carly Simon, Janis Ian, Phoebe Snow, Linda Ronstadt, to name a few – I didn’t find Maureen McGovern’s “The Morning After.
I was just about ready to call it a day, when in the last row of records I was searching, nearly at the back, there it was! “The Morning After” by Maureen McGovern.

It was indeed like finding a buried treasure, and I immediately broke into my happy dance, which resembles the Snoopy Happy Dance from the “Peanuts” cartoons, but with much less grace and rhythm. I am not opposed to doing that in front of other record store patrons when I find the elusive vinyl. If anyone were to ask what was wrong to me, I was prepared to tell them that I was just rocking out to Dylan and The Band.

Once that moment of finding the proverbial needle in the haystack elation subsides, though, then I usually take a closer look at the record and the album cover. Which is what I did this time as well.

This one looked good . . . but, wait. In the upper righthand corner, just above Ms. McGovern’s name, there was another name, this one written in ballpoint pen. It read “Conrad.”

Now it’s not unusual to find records with people’s names on them. There was a time – and I understand this – as kids where we put on name on our most valuable possessions. This album, likely more than 40 years ago, apparently was a prized possession for someone named Conrad.

There is no way for me to know if that is a first name or a last name, but my immediate reaction to finding Conrad’s name on the very album I had been searching for was to seek out the first person named Conrad I could find and punch him right in the nose.

WFT Conrad? Did you not know 40 years ago that someday I would find this record, with the hopes of having it signed by Maureen McGovern?

Of course, that is an unreasonable reaction. But it did take a bit of the steam out of the Snoopy Happy Dance once I came to my senses.

I bought the record anyway. One never knows how long the search would have continued to find the album again. This is one is in pretty decent shape, and will look cool once it’s signed by Ms. McGovern.

That will be the second autograph on the album. Thanks, Conrad.

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

Tag: America

Whoa-oh-oh, listen to the music: The best concerts of 2019

When you get caught between America and Christopher Cross, the best that you can do is fall in love with the music

The story behind ‘A Horse With No Name,” straight from the horse’s mouth

The Beach Boys and America: As close to a perfect evening as possible

Search for elusive vinyl ends with a deflating ‘Conrad’ moment