The 500 - #272 - Dig Me Out - Sleater Kinney

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #272

Album Title: Dig Me Out

Artist: Sleater-Kinney

Genre: Punk-Rock

Recorded: John & Stu's Place, Seattle, Washington

Released: April, 1997

My age at release: 31

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, At #189, moving up 83 spots since 2012

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Pretty Babies

It was a friend, Steve Crew, who put the band Sleater-Kinney on my radar. Some readers of this blog series might remember Steve from his guest blog post in February, 2021. He wrote about album #384, A Quick One by The Who.

Steve and I enjoyed chatting about hockey, music and film. While visiting him in the spring of 2006, he produced a video cassette he had recorded. He wanted to show me an interview with screenwriter, producer and director Oliver Stone on a new television program called The Henry Rollins Show.

Rollins, an outspoken, post-punk, renaissance man, had carved a niche for himself in contemporary counter-culture as a musician (fronting the LA punk band Black Flag), spoken word artist, actor, activist and novelist. His new program, on the cable channel IFC, allowed Rollins to play to his many strengths. Each 40-plus-minute episode featured engaging and often provocative segments, including Teeing Off and Letters From Henry, in which he offered short, acerbic and often comedic takes on current social issues.

Each episode also included an interview section in which Rollins was able to engage in an uncensored, thought-provoking chat with a diverse group of creative artists, many of whom eschewed conventional talk shows. Over the course of two seasons, his guests included the aforementioned Stone, Iggy Pop, Paul Thomas Anderson, Eddie Izzard, John Waters and Larry Flint.

Finally, each episode included a musical performance, typically from bands or musicians who were lesser-known or avant-garde in their sound or performance style. On the inaugural episode I watched with Steve, a high-energy, punk-rock trio of females named Sleater-Kinney was featured. I was riveted by their performance (which can be seen here).

Formed in 1994, the band took their name* from Sleater-Kinney Road, located near their first practice space in Lacey, Washington, a suburb of the capital, Olympia. Founding members Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker had been active in the Washington music scene for a few years. Brownstein was in the group Excuse 17, and Tucker was part of the influential riot grrrl (feminist punk rock) movement, with the cleverly named band Heavens To Betsy.

Sleater-Kinney was originally a side project for Brownstein and Tucker but, when their primary groups disbanded, it became their focus. Their first two records, Sleater-Kinney and Call The Doctor, featured Laura McFarlane on drums.

By the time of their third release, Dig Me Out, the trio had built a loyal following in the Pacific Northwest club circuit and Janet Weiss had replaced McFarlane. The lyrics on Dig Me Out address feminism, heartbreak and survival, alongside robust, high-octane rock and roll. Weiss' drumming is outstanding, drawing comparisons to the work of Ringo Starr (The Beatles), Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones) and Mick Avory (The Kinks). The Avory connection seems to hold water because Dig Me Up's album cover is clearly a homage to the 1965 album, The Kink Kontroversy. (Thanks to my pal V.A. for that heads-up.)

It is considered Sleater-Kinney’s breakout album, being well received by music critics. In his 1997 review of the record, Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone Magazine noted that while "the Spice Girls (a manufactured pop group) prattle on about 'girl power', Sleater-Kinney remain the real socket for that energy".

The trio released six more studio records between 1997 and 2019, after which Weiss departed the band amicably. In 2021, Sleater-Kinney launched their latest album, Path Of Wellness, with new drummer Angie Boylan.

A few years after Sleater-Kinney appeared on that episode of The Rollins Show, guitarist Carrie Brownstein was featured on another IFC television series entitled Portlandia. Alongside Saturday Night Live alumni Fred Armisen, the satirical, and often surreal, sketch show pokes good-natured fun at the inhabitants of Portland, Oregon -- a city famous (and often mocked) for its eccentric, hipster citizenry.

Much like the quirky humour on Portlandia, Dig Me Out might not be for everyone. Tucker's emotional vocal delivery is an acquired taste. However, as Sara Scribner of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "she is obsessed with finding emotion in the cold machinery of the human heart" – and that works for me.

Addendum

* Following the publication of this blog, a reader, Michael Breen, shared the following photo (found on Google) and let me know that the band took their name from an Exit Sign of Interstate 5 - which led to the street I mentioned. See below.

The 500 - #273 - Going To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #273

Album Title: Going To The Go-Go

Artist: Smokey Robinson and The Miracles

Genre: Soul

Recorded: Hitsville USA, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Released: November, 1965

My age at release: 4 months

How familiar was I with it before this week: A Couple Tracks

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, At #412, dropping 139 spots since 2012

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Going To A Go-Go

"When Smokey sings, I hear violins,
When Smokey sings, I forget everything"

Those are lyrics taken from the song When Smokey Sings by the British band ABC – an homage to R&B artist Smokey Robinson. The track hit #2 on the charts here in Canada and was ubiquitous on local radio stations in the summer of 1987. ABC eschewed their usual new wave/synth-pop sound to record this song in the style of Blue Eyed Soul, a term coined to describe R&B music performed by white artists -- Tom Jones, Steve Winwood and Boz Scaggs are a few well known artists from the genre.

Album cover for the 12" single to When Smokey Sings by ABC

Whenever I hear the name Smokey Robinson, I am reminded of this catchy ditty. Sure, I'd heard of Robinson before 1987, his hits were staples on pop music or oldies radio stations and frequently used in movie soundtracks (The music of the ‘60s enjoyed a cultural renaissance in the ‘80s). However, I wasn't deeply familiar with his history until recently. I'd assumed he was just a crooner, singing hits that the factory of songwriters at Motown Records provided for him. It turns out that this was just one of several things I didn't have right.

William Robinson Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 19, 1940. He was given the nickname "Smokey Joe" by his Uncle Claude who regularly took young William to “shoot-’em-up” cowboy movies. Eventually dropping the "Joe", "Smokey" attended Northern High School in the mid- ‘50s, at the same time of Motown legend Aretha Franklin – The Queen of Soul. In fact, the pair had known each other since they were five and, for a time, lived a few houses apart.

Aretha "The Queen of Soul" Franklin

Robinson was an above average academic student and a capable athlete, but his real passion was music and he formed the doo-wop group The Five Chimes while attending high school. Two years later, Claudette Rogers joined the band and they rebranded as The Matadors. The quintet finally settled on The Miracles in 1959, around the same time Robinson and Rogers became husband and wife.

The Miracles (l-r) Robinson, Rogers, Ronald White, Pete Moore, 
and Bobby Rogers

Going To A Go-Go was released in 1965 and became the first to credit the group as Smokey Robinson and The Miracles -- capitalizing on Smokey's growing fame as the group's front-man. All The Miracles performers were vocalists, but were accompanied on this record by The Funk Brothers – a collective of Detroit-based session musicians who performed on dozens of Motown hits from 1959-1972.

One iteration of The Funk Brothers in studio with Stevie Wonder

Going To A Go-Go contained some new material, but was marketed with four previously released hits from The Miracles -- Oooh Baby Baby, Tracks Of My Tears, Going To A Go-Go and My Girl Has Gone. Curiously, Claudette Robinson (nee White) does not appear on the record cover, despite performing on it. Instead, The Miracles are depicted as Smokey and three men. It was suggested at the time that she had "retired" from touring with the band in 1964.

However, in a 2022 UDiscover Music magazine interview, Claudette said she wanted to stay on the road and be promoted as a member of the band. She says "I didn't retire, I was retired", based on a decision by Smokey and Motown Records' head executive Berry Gordy Jr. Claudette continued to record with the group until 1972 and remained married to Smokey until 1986. There is an upcoming biofilm entitled The First Lady Of Motown - The Claudette Robinson Story. It is scheduled for release this year. I expect the pic will shed more light on her "retirement" from The Miracles.

Becoming aware that The Miracles had a female member was not the only thing I learned in the process of writing this blog. It turns out that Smokey, and his band mates were prolific songwriters. Bob Dylan once called him  "America's Greatest Poet".  All but one track on Going To A Go-Go was penned by Robinson. In fact, he authored more than 4,000 tracks, including legendary hits often made famous by other artists such as My Girl, (You better) Shop Around, I Second That Emotion, My Guy and You Really Got A Hold On Me. Robinson was inducted into The Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1989.

Robinson with Whitney Houston, receiving his recognition
from The Songwriter's Hall Of Fame

In that Brit-pop hit I mentioned, When Smokey Sings, there was another “musical Easter-egg” waiting for me to discover. Beyond the rich lyrics, songwriters Martin Fry and Mark White left another clever homage. The bassline for the 1987 track, around which the entire song is built, is a close interpretation (often called an interpolation) of the bassline from The Tears Of A Clown.

This week’s featured album, Going To A Go-Go,  provided a delightful musical interlude; the music is compelling, the harmonies are rich and the lyrics capture love, celebration and heartbreak sublimely. It is one of those records you can play anywhere, at any time and it will be well received. ABC's Fry and White explained it far more eloquently when they sang:

"Debonair lullabies
In melodies revealed
In deep despair on lonely nights
He knows just how you feel
The slyest rhymes, the sharpest suits
In miracles made real

Like a bird in flight on a hot sweet night
You know you're right just to hold her tight
He soothes it right, makes it out of sight
And everything's good in the world tonight

When Smokey sings, I hear violins
When Smokey sings, I forget everything."

 

The 500 - #274 - Nightbirds - Labelle

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #274

Album Title: Nightbirds

Artist: Labelle

Genre: R&B, Proto-disco, Funk

Recorded: Sea Saint Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana

Released: September, 1974

My age at release: 9

How familiar was I with it before this week: One Song

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Are You Lonely?

Although I was not familiar with Labelle, an all-female Philadelphia-based vocal group formed in 1962 I do remember hearing the music of one of its members, Patti LaBelle, in the ‘80s. Her songs, New Attitude and Stir It Up, were featured in the massively successful film and soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop in 1984.

LaBelle (born Patricia Holte) also had a number one hit with Michael McDonald of Doobie Brothers fame with the duet, On My Own -- written by legendary songwriters Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.

At the time, I was working jobs where Top 40 radio was constant, ensuring all three songs reached my ears, despite not being a fan. In the spring of 1985, I was 18 and deeply invested in hard and progressive rock. Like many insufferable teens, I felt I owned the "corner on the truth" when it came to quality music and dismissed Patti LaBelle's songs as simplistic pop-music or cheesy, easy-listening schlock.

Classic album cover iconography from many Prog-Rock artists I loved

Nightbirds was released a decade earlier and was the fourth record by the trio under the name Labelles. Recording and touring since 1962, they have been dubbed The Blue Belles (aka: Patti LaBelle and her Blue Belles, Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles) the names distinguished by the spellings The 1974 line-up included founding members LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash.

Labelle (l-r) Hendryx, LaBelle and Dash

The earliest incarnation of the group, which included soprano Cindy Birdsong, found success singing ballads and doo-wop songs on the Chitlin' Circuit. The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues spread across the eastern half of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance of African-American entertainers during the era of racial segregation.

Map showing venues on the Chitlin' Circuit

I sometimes forget that racial segregation and the Civil Rights Movement took place in my lifetime. Recently, my current cohort of Grade 7 students and I explored a wonderful CBC podcast series called Portraits of Black Canadians as part of our Black History Month studies. These 12-year-olds were, understandably, aghast when we discussed the Slave Trade. However, they were stunned to realize that segregation continued well into the 1960s, in Canada.

The disheartening story of Africville generated some powerful discussions on human rights and equity. Africville was a small community of African-Canadians in Halifax, Nova Scotia who were denied city services (sidewalks, water, garbage collection) despite paying municipal taxes. Their community was later unceremoniously bulldozed to make way for city expansion. To learn more, you can see all the work of the students at this link.

Birdsong left the Blue Belles in 1967 to join Diana Ross and The Supremes. Around the same time, Blue Belles performed in Europe (mainly in the UK) where black artists found more acceptance with white audiences in pubs and concert halls. On a 2015 episode of The Meredith Vieira Talk Show, LaBelle shared stories of her time in England, performing shows and cooking meals for The Rolling Stones and The Who. At the time, the trio were supported by the group Bluesology, featuring a teenage Reg Dwight (later known as Elton John) on piano. LaBelle humourously recounts taking Dwight for a lot of money playing cards, but never let him head home on an empty stomach or without plenty of leftovers in Tupperware containers. "He didn't return those containers, but made up for it years later with a beautiful diamond ring."

LaBelle with Elton John (Reg Dwight) 2002

During their time in England the Blue Belles transformed their musical direction, sound and style. By 1970, they had changed their name, for the final time, to LaBelle. They also began recording and performing their funky interpretations of contemporary rock and roll and pop standards, including Wild Horses (Rolling Stones), Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who), Moonshadow (Cat Stevens), and You've Got A Friend (Carole King).

Labelle's second record, Moon Shadow (1972)

In 1974, when Nightbirds was released, the group explored glam rock, wearing outlandish, funky, space-age costumes. They also began playing songs that were the prototype for the disco genre, which would dominate the late ‘70s. Their biggest hit, and the only song I knew from the album, was Lady Marmalade.

Labelle in their space-age, glam-rock outfits (1974)

Lady Marmalade was penned by the songwriting team of Bob Crewe (Walk Like A Man, Can't Take My Eyes Off You) and Kenny Nolan (My Eyes Adored You, I Like Dreamin'). The song was originally written for Nolan's disco group, The Eleventh Hour, and is most famous for the risque lyric in the chorus, " voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?" which translates to "would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Shocking stuff in 1974. So much so, that broadcasting standards on American television insisted they change the lyrics to "voulez-vous danser avec moi, ce soir?" -- "Do you want to dance with me tonight?"

Lady Marmalade became a hit again in 2001 when it was featured in the Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge!. The updated version featured vocals from contemporary singing stars L'il Kim, Christina Aguilara, Pink and Mýa.

Labelle disbanded in 1976 with all three members continuing their musical careers as solo or studio artists. They reunited in 2005, releasing their final album, Back To Now, in 2008. Sarah Dash passed away in September, 2021, two days after a performance with LaBelle in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She was 76.

For this blog post, I  re-listened to those "cheesy", "schlocky", "easy-listening" Patti LaBelle songs from my youth. Sure, they are still not  my cup of tea, but I now recognize how good Ms. Labelle's voice is and how much those songs, despite my teenage protestations, are weaved deeply into the soundtrack of my life.