The 500 - #119 - At Last! - Etta James

 I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-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.

---

Album #: 119
Album Title: At Last!
Artist: Etta James
Genre: R&B, Blues, Pop, Jazz
Recorded: Chess/Argo Studios in Chicago, Illinois

Released: November, 1960
My age at release: Not born yet
How familiar was I with it before this week: A few songs
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #191, dropping72 places
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: At Last!

One night recently, I was sitting in the half-light of the Hyland Cinema, London, Ontario's beloved little repertory and art film house. As the trailers played, my wife and I quietly whispered about the upcoming movies and made tentative plans to see a few selections that we have never seen on the big screen. Two grabbed our attention -- Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki's dream-like, Japanese animation film, and Dirty Harry, the Clint Eastwood blockbuster from 55 years ago.

Posters for Spirited Away and Dirty Harry.

Then the feature started and we settled in to watch True Romance, a gritty, 1993 romantic-thriller, written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. It was a movie my wife and I loved in the ‘90s, but had never seen on the big screen. This version was the Director's Cut, restored in stunning 4K resolution.

It’s still an engaging and enjoyable movie, even with the troublesome language that felt edgy in the ’90s but land more uncomfortably today. In fact, prior to the screening, an employee offered a "trigger warning" to our audience. The cast is a who’s who of Hollywood A‑listers, including Patricia Arquette, Christian Slater, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer and Dennis Hopper. Watching it again, after at least 20 years, I couldn’t get over how young everyone looked. Sure, many of them were in their twenties when the movie was filmed, but even Dennis Hopper, who seemed ancient to me in 1993, was only 57. Younger than I am now.

Dennis Hopper as Cliford Worley in a powerful scene from
True Romance - one that features triggering language.

The age factor lingered long enough to follow me home, where I ended up reading about Etta James for this record, At Last!, her 1960 debut. I’ve always imagined her as a woman from another era, impossibly older, carved out of time. But, I was surprised to discover she was born only a year before my mom and was only 73 when she died in 2012. In fact, she was just 21 when she recorded this legendary record. People just looked older than their years back then and they seemed even older when viewed from a teen-age or 20-something perspective.

Etta James in the recording studio, circa 1960.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins, her professional career began in 1954, performing in Nashville clubs and touring in the Chitlin' Circuit, a loose collection of venues located in the eastern and southern U.S.. They provided safe havens for African-American performers and audiences during the time of segregation.

James (she jettisoned Hawkins and switched around Jamesetta to form her first and last names) performed in a wide range of genres, from gospel to blues to jazz and rock. She had many hits, the biggest being the title track from this record, At Last!. However, she struggled with several personal battles, including addiction, physical abuse and incarceration.

She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. She also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number 22 on its 2008 list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time; she was also ranked at 62 in the magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.  Multiple artists and bands, including Diana Ross, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Amy Winehouse, and Adele, asserted they had been influenced by her.

James' grave marker in Inglewood, California.

I only really knew the big hits, so spending time with the whole album felt like discovering a hidden room in a house I thought I already knew. The lush, orchestral arrangements wrapped around her voice in an almost physical way -- warm, enveloping, unmistakably intimate. And that voice! That powerful, smoky, earthy contralto, carrying the weight of a lifetime. Which is why it stopped me cold upon realizing how young Etta James was when she recorded it. I’d always imagined her as older, someone who had lived through decades of heartbreak and hard fought wisdom. But she was barely more than a kid, singing about timeless romance and deep sorrow -- emotions seemingly far beyond her years. It’s astonishing how convincingly she harbored  experiences she hadn’t yet lived.

The 500 - #278 - Anthology of American Folk Music - Various Artists

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. 

---

Album: #278

Album Title: Anthology of American Folk Music

Artist: Various

Genre: American Folk, Country, Blues

Recorded: Multiple (Songs recorded from 1926-1933)

Released: August, 1952

My age at release: Not yet born.

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

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Poor Boy Blues

I’ll admit, this record was a slog to get through. Released in 1952, Anthology of American Folk is a three-disc, 83-song compilation of music recorded in the United States between 1926 and 1933. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the listen. It was just a lot to absorb in a week and I often found myself drifting and not fully appreciating the music.

Occasionally, I would pause and make the effort to concentrate on the song emanating from my headphones or speakers. During those moments I found myself transfixed by what I was hearing and couldn’t help but think about those artists recording songs with the technology of the time.

• Could they conceptualize how much their work would influence American music in the future?
• Did they imagine they would be listened to nearly a hundred years in the future?
• Could they even anticipate the advances in recording technology? (Imagine trying to explain to someone from 1926 that their song would be streamed digitally from a Spotify account to a pair of Bluetooth headphones.)

1925 marked the second wave in the history of sound recording, the first being the “acoustic age” (1877-1925). The new “electric age” was made possible by the development of electric microphones, electronic signal amplification and electro-mechanical recording devices. Sound could now be captured, amplified, filtered and balanced electronically. Additionally, sound signals could be inscribed onto a wax master disc which could be mass produced through a stamping method on polyvinyl plastic -- the 78 rpm (revolutions per minute) record.

Those 78 rpm records became the industry standard for a few years, first marketed in 1894. By 1948 the long playing (lp) record, which had an rpm of 33 ⅓, became the standard.

This anthology exists because of Harry Smith (1923-1991), an American who painstakingly collected 78 rpm records throughout his life. But Smith was far more than a collector. He was a polymath, an individual who has extensive knowledge in many subject areas. As well, Smith was an artist, film-maker, Bohemian mystic, anthropologist and Neo-gnostic bishop.

Harry Smith

Smith was an important figure in the Beat Generation of the 1950s because of his insatiable appetite for collecting all manner of items in addition to 78 rpm records, such as paper airplanes, textiles from Seminole tribes and Ukrainian Easter Eggs, to name just a few.

Smith & Beat poet Allen Ginsberg

Born in Portland, Oregon, Smith called himself a magickian - a practitioner of magick. Magick (the k is not a typo) is a form of ceremonial, high magic from the world of the occult. The unusual spelling comes from the Renaissance period and is used to differentiate the practise from stage or performance magic. It is defined by its practitioners as “the science and art of causing changes to occur in the conformity of will”.

Smith also collected "string figures"

When Smith released his Anthology, he organized it into three, two-album volumes which he labelled Ballads, Social and Songs. The first, Ballads, featured American versions of traditional ballads from England. These were called Childs’ Ballads after Francis James Childs who anthologized them in the latter half of the 19th Century. Each one contains a narrative about a specific event or time.

The Social volume contains songs that would have been popular at dances and other public gatherings, including religious ceremonies. Consequently, these are considered the first American gospel recordings.

The final volume, Songs, consists of music about real-life events -- marriage, labour, prison and death.

When released, the album did not sell well or gain any recognition. However, it is now considered a landmark release and is credited with the American Folk Music revival that occurred in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. A clear line can be drawn from the album to artists such as Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. Even Canadian artists were inspired, and performers Ian & Sylvia moved from Toronto to New York to perform traditional folk songs.

Typically, I like to listen to the record I am writing about at least four times. For this week’s blog, once was all I could manage. However, I am not done with it. I’ll go back to it again later this year and enjoy the performances at leisure. They are so earnest in their presentation and, in a way, connect me to the past. These singers and musicians recorded their pieces in a single take, directly into a microphone that had only been invented a few years earlier. To me, each song is an artistic endeavour captured in time. Somehow, I find comfort in that.

Thanks for reading -- all the blogs can be found here (just scroll down).

The 500 - #286 - I'm Still In Love With You - Al Green

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. 

---

Album: #286

Album Title: I'm Still In Love With You

Artist: Al Green

Genre: Soul

Recorded: Royal Recording Studios, Memphis, Tennessee

Released: October, 1972

My age at release: 7

How familiar was I with it before this week: A couple songs

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, dropping to #320 (33 places) since 2012

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Love And Happiness

In childhood, it seems that time moves slowly. Some experts suggest this is not merely an illusion. Dr. Clifford Lazarus, in an article in Psychology Today, posits that "children recall more visual data" than their elders" and, as a consequence, generate more "mental frames" or "mental images" that capture significant moments in time.

Consider the cover art to this week's record, I'm Still In Love With You (pictured above). Taken in 1972, it depicts the singer Al Green, seated and dressed almost entirely in white on lacquered rattan furniture, set against a white backdrop. As soon as I saw it, I was transported back to my childhood. More specifically, the early 1970s when I was about seven to nine years old.

My wife and I have talked about how we perceived the "adult world" when we were pre-pubescent. She came of age during the era of   Saturday Night Fever and was convinced she would become a 20-something disco dancer in strappy heels, decked out in a flowing dress while being wooed by a white-suited Tony Manero-type.

My vision of the "adult world" was more like this album cover. A sprawling tropical mansion, accented with the "finest" rattan and bamboo furniture and covered with lush tropical greenery. There may have even been a parrot involved. Perhaps my adolescent fascination with the television program Fantasy Island played into that mental image. Regardless, it doesn't make a lot of sense that a kid growing up in Ontario, Canada, would imagine a future with palm plants and exotic wildlife. However, I do like the fact that I thought my future would be rosy enough to include a mansion -- gaudy wicker furniture aside.

Which brings me back to I'm Still In Love With You, the fifth studio record by soul/R&B/gospel legend Green. I wrote about his history just a few weeks ago when discussing his sixth record, Call Me. Both records are considered part of Green's soul phase, which culminated with his Greatest Hits record in 1975 (#52 on The 500). By then, Green had entered the gospel era of his career, which stemmed from a life-changing event that occurred on October 14, 1974.

Sometimes referenced as the "Grits Incident", Green's ex-girlfriend, Mary Woodson, burst into the bathroom of his Memphis home and poured a pot of scalding hot grits (a Southern food item comprising corn, cheese and cream) on the back of the bathing singer. Woodson then went into a nearby bedroom, found Green's handgun, and took her own life.

Mary Woodson (1970s)

Green required skin grafts and spent months in recovery. He also reported that he spent his convalescence in deep reflection on his life. Raised in an evangelical household he had straddled the line between the devout faith in which he was raised and his philandering lifestyle as a popular soul singer.

Earlier in 1974 he had released Take Me To The River, a song about baptism. At the same time, information about the “Grits Incident” was revealed by investigating officers. They said Woodson, unbeknownst to Green, was married with four children and had a history of mental health issues. She had left two suicide notes, including one proclaiming her love for Green.

Green was cleared of any wrongdoing and began a path to redemption, determined to live a wholesome life and spread the word of God. He became a born-again Christian and, in 1976, was ordained a minister. A theme of the Reverend Al Green’s 1977 release, The Belle Album, espouses devotion to God. Then, in 1980, his first purpose-made gospel record, The Lord Will Make A Way, ushered in a transformational phase in his music career.

The story of Green’s metamorphosis got me thinking about the changes we embrace throughout our lives. I have two good friends who have recently made important lifestyle adjustments to improve their health and, hopefully, longevity. Their “altered lifestyle” has not been lost on me as they are worthy lessons to emulate.

It's times like these when I reflect on a beautiful bit of poetry by Guy Garvey, of the band Elbow, from the song Lunette:

"What can be said of the whiskey and wine.
Random abandon or ballast for joy
That was scuppered with trust, little more than a boy.
And besides I'm in excellent company.

I'm reaching the age when decisions are made
On life and liver and I'm sure, last ditch,
That I'll ask for more time
But mother, forgive me,
I still want a bottle of good Irish whiskey
And a bundle of smokes in my grave."

I’ll have to take good care of myself, I still have a white mansion, tropical plants with plenty of rattan furniture to purchase...and a parrot.