Fusion 45

Ardent Recording, Memphis, Tennessee

I’m at the coffee shop this morning. Michael Bolton is screeching When A Man Loves A Woman in the background. Another reason why one should never be without his iPod.

Here’s Part Two of our music from Ardent:

North Mississippi All-Stars - Mean Ol’ Wind Died Down

Big Star - I’m In Love With A Girl

Leon Russell And The Shelter People - It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Steve Earle - Johnny Come Lately

The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes

James taylor - You Can Close Your Eyes

Photo: The recently “un-retired” Mojo Nixon

By popular demand, I’ve dropped the ZIP’s and added MP3s for the Jim Keltner post I did a few months back.

My set of tunes featuring Steve Gadd was so well received I thought I’d dive into a series of posts featuring great session drummers. Here’s a (short) dozen from Jim Keltner.

Steely Dan – Josie (Aja, MCA, 1977)

This should probably be the finale in this set, not the opener. Notoriously finicky, Becker and Fagen put Keltner to the test on this one and he scored an “A”. Block out everything and listen to the high hat work – he mixes eighths and sixteenths from measure to measure with the grace of a Jack DeJohnette.

Leon Russell – Lay Right Here In Heaven (Will O’ The Wisp, Shelter, 1975)

This copy is a little too dirty to hear the nuances but it’s still a great groove: “Sometimes I feel like bitin’ your toes, heaven knows, anything goes”. Keltner actually shares the drum credit with two others on this tune.

Jackson Browne – Red Neck Friend (For Everyman, Elektra, 1975)

Eight bars of guitar and then it’s straight rock and roll right to the last drum beat. Decidedly un-Jackson Browne, in my book, and no doubt covered by a few million bar bands since the 1970’s. Great piano, too.

James Taylor – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (Gorilla, Warner Brothers, 1975)

The credits say Keltner shared the drum duties with Jim Gordon but it’s hard to hear exactly how that happens. Maybe there’s one of them on tambourine? Even so, it’s a tasty shuffle with Carly doing background vocals and Sanborn on sax. Reminds me of summertime…

Carly Simon and James Taylor – Mockingbird (Hotcakes, Elektra, 1974)

A case of the remake beating the original with Carly and James reversing roles on this one (it appears on Carly’s album with James credited as the background singer). Just like Steve Gadd’s four-on-the-floor in “Danny’s All-Star Joint,” this proves that a funky drummer doesn’t have to show off…just a clean funky beat, cowbell in hand, thank you.

Seals and Crofts – Yellow Dirt (Summer Breeze, Warner Brothers, 1971)

Seals and Crofts have been much-maligned for being too soft to be called rock and roll but, in fact, they could get a little funky. The drums and pianos work together nicely here as Keltner lays down a slow groove. I love the group picture of all the happy hippies on the inside cover of the album.

John Lennon – I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier (Imagine, Apple, 1971)

Most bios of Keltner immediately refer to his work with three of the four Beatles (sans McCartney) and it’s true. He was a favorite of that gang (and their accessories like Harry Nilsson) for his diversity and ability to adapt to any style. Dirty groove is the best way to describe this one.

George Harrison – Give Me Love (Living In The Material World, Apple, 1973)

Having heard this song a billion times, I’ve never once paid attention to the drum part until today. And, truth be told, it’s one of the more complicated and tasty in Keltner’s repertoire. Funky but delicate and light of touch, this really is a masterpiece. (And there’s a “Jim Keltner Fan Club” logo on the back!)

Nilsson – Daylight Has Caught Me (That’s The Way It Is, RCA, 1976

This is another deceptively intricate drum part that doesn’t stand out against the vocals and piano. But, give this a listen with your ears focused on the drumming and you’ll him changes styles a couple of times during the song: from straight funk to reggae to rock and roll and back again. Once more, great hi-hat work.

Elliman – Sally Go ‘Round The Roses (Night Flight, RSO, 1978)

OK, this one’s a little off the beaten path. Who’d have thought Keltner would be in the company of a pop star like Yvonne Elliman? But, then again, she’s not so far afield. She sang with Clapton and hung with Delaney and Bonnie, all part of Keltner’s circle. But, stylistically, it’s definitely a stretch.

Joe Cocker – The Letter (Mad Dogs and Englishmen, A and M, 1970)

I freely admit this is a guess: Jim Gordon and Jim Keltner are credited equally for drumming on this record without pointing to specific songs. But this sounds an awful like Keltner’s style…if not, does it really matter?

All these cuts come from my well-worn record collection. Want cleaner copies? Buy the CD’s or download the tracks at Amazon.

I have a folder full of music on my network that I’ve yet to integrate into the master drive. The MASTER DRIVE is where all the MP3s I own live together in a way that I only wish people could co-exist. You know: really bad Top 40 songs hanging out with Sonic Youth; honkies and niggers and chinks and spics all digging it together in the tall grass, sun shining, everybody happy.

These songs in ERRANT FOLDER #90026 07.24.08 are still waiting for integration, like Muslims arriving in America after 9/11, except songs can be integrated with the push of the button and racism is overturned at a glacial pace. We’ll live in hope.

Within ERRANT FOLDER #90026 07.24.08 there are sub-holders holding the Watson Twins, James Hunter, John Mellencamp and Sarah Vaughan and, like Prince Albert in A Can, they’ll need to be let out. Then there are 1509 orphans.

Sort by song and you get “40″ by U2 at one end and Zydeco Clowns On The Lam by John Ellis at the other end. I recorded “40″ from a cassette tape of War and I downloaded John Ellis from eMusic.

Sort by time and I found this: at one end, the introduction to Leon Russell’s Carny album, clocking at a well-worth-listening-to 45 seconds. I wouldn’t go so far as to say “I’m an enigma” because it sounds rather haughty. But I have enigmatic tastes and I think weirdness should be promoted along with sanity (and, hopefully, the two will marry and come out somewhere reasonably left of Ronald Reagan). This song does the job.

Not surprisingly, the other end of the long-and-short spectrum gives us the Grateful Dead. The Dead are good for traffic so let me mention them again, this time with a link: GRATEFUL DEAD!

I never saw a Dead show though I know people who have (and try to cover their weirdness with sweaters from Patagonia). But, I get the vibe thanks to the way they did their deal, letting people tape them all along. The Dead lived by the new music business model long before anyone else…and you never REALLY own it anyway, do you?

ERRANT FOLDER 90026 07.24.08 thanks you.

Leon Russell - Carny

Grateful Dead - Dark Star/China Cat Sunflower

My set of tunes featuring Steve Gadd was so well received I thought I’d dive into a series of posts featuring great session drummers. Here’s a (short) dozen from Jim Keltner.

Steely Dan – Josie (Aja, MCA, 1977)

This should probably be the finale in this set, not the opener. Notoriously finicky, Becker and Fagen put Keltner to the test on this one and he scored an “A”. Block out everything and listen to the high hat work – he mixes eighths and sixteenths from measure to measure with the grace of a Jack DeJohnette.

Leon Russell – Lay Right Here In Heaven (Will O’ The Wisp, Shelter, 1975)

This copy is a little too dirty to hear the nuances but it’s still a great groove: “Sometimes I feel like bitin’ your toes, heaven knows, anything goes”. Keltner actually shares the drum credit with two others on this tune.

Jackson Browne – Red Neck Friend (For Everyman, Elektra, 1975)

Eight bars of guitar and then it’s straight rock and roll right to the last drum beat. Decidedly un-Jackson Browne, in my book, and no doubt covered by a few million bar bands since the 1970’s. Great piano, too.

James Taylor – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (Gorilla, Warner Brothers, 1975)

The credits say Keltner shared the drum duties with Jim Gordon but it’s hard to hear exactly how that happens. Maybe there’s one of them on tambourine? Even so, it’s a tasty shuffle with Carly doing background vocals and Sanborn on sax. Reminds me of summertime…

Carly Simon and James Taylor – Mockingbird (Hotcakes, Elektra, 1974)

A case of the remake beating the original with Carly and James reversing roles on this one (it appears on Carly’s album with James credited as the background singer). Just like Steve Gadd’s four-on-the-floor in “Danny’s All-Star Joint,” this proves that a funky drummer doesn’t have to show off…just a clean funky beat, cowbell in hand, thank you.

Seals and Crofts – Yellow Dirt (Summer Breeze, Warner Brothers, 1971)

Seals and Crofts have been much-maligned for being too soft to be called rock and roll but, in fact, they could get a little funky. The drums and pianos work together nicely here as Keltner lays down a slow groove. I love the group picture of all the happy hippies on the inside cover of the album.

John Lennon – I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier (Imagine, Apple, 1971)

Most bios of Keltner immediately refer to his work with three of the four Beatles (sans McCartney) and it’s true. He was a favorite of that gang (and their accessories like Harry Nilsson) for his diversity and ability to adapt to any style. Dirty groove is the best way to describe this one.

George Harrison – Give Me Love (Living In The Material World, Apple, 1973)

Having heard this song a billion times, I’ve never once paid attention to the drum part until today. And, truth be told, it’s one of the more complicated and tasty in Keltner’s repertoire. Funky but delicate and light of touch, this really is a masterpiece. (And there’s a “Jim Keltner Fan Club” logo on the back!)

Nilsson – Daylight Has Caught Me (That’s The Way It Is, RCA, 1976

This is another deceptively intricate drum part that doesn’t stand out against the vocals and piano. But, give this a listen with your ears focused on the drumming and you’ll him changes styles a couple of times during the song: from straight funk to reggae to rock and roll and back again. Once more, great hi-hat work.

Elliman – Sally Go ‘Round The Roses (Night Flight, RSO, 1978)

OK, this one’s a little off the beaten path. Who’d have thought Keltner would be in the company of a pop star like Yvonne Elliman? But, then again, she’s not so far afield. She sang with Clapton and hung with Delaney and Bonnie, all part of Keltner’s circle. But, stylistically, it’s definitely a stretch.

Joe Cocker – The Letter (Mad Dogs and Englishmen, A and M, 1970)

I freely admit this is a guess: Jim Gordon and Jim Keltner are credited equally for drumming on this record without pointing to specific songs. But this sounds an awful like Keltner’s style…if not, does it really matter?

All these cuts come from my well-worn record collection. Want cleaner copies? Buy the CD’s or download the tracks at Amazon.

Original Recording | November 1994 | Ithaca, NY

Digital Remaster | September 2007 | Brush Prairie, WA

Cowboy Junkies - Anniversary Song
Michael Murphy - Carolina in the Pines
Alison Krause - Everytime You Say Goodbye
Stephen Stills - My Angel
Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine
Leon Russell - If I Were A Carpenter
Bruce Cockburn - Wonder Where The Lions Are
Brewer and Shipley - Sweet Love
Pure Prairie League - Fallin’ In And Out of Love
Indigo Girls - Hammer and a Nail
Mary Chapin-Carpenter - Middle Ground
George Harrison - Give Me Love
Bare Naked Ladies - Will You Be Waiting
Rickie Lee Jones - Jolie Jolie
Subdudes - Need Somebody
Traffic - You Can All Join In
Los Lobos - Saint Behind The Glass
Clannad - Banba Oir

<a href=”http://www.fusion45.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/2007/master_4.mp3″>A-Frame Tapes, Volume 3</a>

Recorded Thursday, September 13, 2007

Elvin Bishop - Yes Sir (Capricorn)
Rolling Stones - Short and Curlies (RS)
Doobie Brothers - Slippery St. Paul (WB)
Jackson Browne - Take It Easy (Elektra)
Los Lobos - The Breakdown (Slash)
Santana - Written In The Sand (CBS)
Three Dog Night - Out In The Country (ABC/Dunhill)
Eric Clapton - Tell Me That You Love ME (RSO)
Steve Earle - Copperhead Road (UNI)
Sea Level - Shake A Leg (Capricorn)
Steve Forbert - The Sweet Love That You Give (Sure Goes A Long Way) (Nemperor)
Leon Russell - Stay Away From Sad Songs (Shelter)
Jesse Colin Young - You Gotta Fix It (Capitol)
John Stewart - Missouri Birds (Capitol)
Paul Simon - Peace Like A River (CBS)
Looking Glass - Don’t It Make You Feel Good (Epic)
Boz Scaggs - We Were Always Sweethearts (CBS)
Richie Havens - Roll ‘Em Daddy (Douglas)

<a href=”http://www.fusion45.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/2007/Fusion45.048-2007.09.13.mp3″> Radio In Heaven</a>