MozzLink 1 - Bruce Springsteen "Streets of Fire"

RIP Clarence 'Big Man' Clemons

Let's talk about Bruce Springsteen for a second,
or a minute or two - then watch a shitload of truly 
revelatory videos, filmed in true, cinema verite-ish
black and white, each with a stunning 'board' mix that
features Bruce's full-out, unsung, heroic guitar playing,
not to mention his razor-throated, take no prisoners lead
vocals. In concert with, and married to The E Street Band, 
Springsteen acts out each and every one of his songs' 
main protagonists' roles, aided greatly by the raw 
attack of The E Street Band - and the charisma 
and integrity of a truly big, engaging man - 
Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr.

I had the pleasure of meeting and looking eye-to-eye
with The Big Man, himself. Yep. He was BIG. Way 
back in 1985, while employed as a security guard, 
during 2 massive Springsteen concerts in Toronto, 
at the now-gone CNE Grandstand. My buddy, 
Dave Beatty offered me (with absolutely NO 
security guard experience, eh-ver) the plumb 
job of 'backstage left security guard'. My role
was simple: keep all dogged, determined and 
prying fans AWAY from the backstage area, 
and specifically, assist Bruce and his merry 
band of rockstars (including both his then 
AND future wives) onto and off of the 
stage - before and after the incredibly
incendiary, legendary shows.

Which is exactly what I did.

In between performing my duties,
I watched (from directly behind Nils
Lofgren's amplifiers) Bruce, Big Man
and the band transform 52,000 people,
each night, into their best friends and 
lovers and close family - for ever.

To this day, methinks, all real Bruce
fans feel a kindred affinity with not
only his and his band's recordings
and shows, but with Bruce, Big
Man, Patti, Miami Steve and the 
whole E Street organization,
past, present and future.


And while, in the present and future,
there'll be no more banter between the
best-est of friends that Bruce and The 
Mastah of Disastah were, we are 
blessed with enduring memories,
prompted by links like the one
I'm a-writin' about, today,
showing Springsteen and
the E Street Band in their
early days - at The Capitol
Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.

Be sure to check out this link, folks.

Try watching the related playlist.

This is one MF'in' B-A-N-D.

This is talent. This is timeless.

This is Bruce Springsteen
and The E Street Band.

Mozz the Elder

www.vapormusic.com




"Streets Of Fire"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EHG3PuXpF0&playnext=1&list=PL5DC8363F3F14C95B

Classic Song 45 - The Tornados "Telstar"

Alright -  time to talk about classic music.

Back in the years before The Beatles changed

everything, I was a little Kootenay kid that loved

pretty well all types of music that I heard, as I was

becoming more and more obsessed with the sounds

emanating from our radio and/or console stereo, and 

was constantly on the lookout for something new.

My brother Gord was my music hero, having

allowed me exclusive access to his band's

rehearsals (as detailed in Classic Song 

34). By eavesdropping on his daily 

guitar practice, whether played

on his '59 Jazzmaster or his

mid-50s Kaye, I heard many

exciting, reverb-laden tunes that

still resonate with me, over a half

century later, including guitar-centric

songs by Duane Eddy, The Ventures,

England's The Shadows or today's Classic

Song, featuring none other than The Tornados.

The story behind "Telstar" has been recounted 

often, so I'll give you only a snapshot summary of 

the salient points. The song was written and produced

by Robert George "Joe" Meek, who was not only into

music, but dabbled also in the occult, believing that he

could communicate with the dead, including the spirit

of Buddy Holly, himself. When not communicating

with ghosts, Meek was active in the British music

scene, having already had a couple of number

one UK records to his production credit. 

He was truly obsessed with futuristic sounds,

having already written and produced a concept

album, entitled I Hear A New World (which he

described as an 'Outer Space Music Fantasy),

for Brit act, Rod Freeman & The Blue Men.

But that was in 1960, and two years later, he was

determined to paint his audio masterpiece, with

the capable help of The Tornados. The title,

Telstar, refers to the US satellite that orbited 

the globe, in competition with Sputnik,

the Soviet Union's pioneering satellite.

The song itself features a very catchy melody,

played on a unique little instrument, called

the Clavioline, a forerunner to the analog

synthesizer, that was also used on The

Beatles' "Baby You're A Rich Man"

and many other pop tunes by acts as 

varied as Esquivel, Del Shannon,

The White Stripes and a young

David Jones aka Bowie.

After Telstar's massive success, Joe Meek 

was sued for plagiarizing the melody from an 

obscure soundtrack to a French film, and though

ultimately (and posthumously) found not guilty,

he was denied all royalties to Telstar, during

his short lifetime, and ended up deeply in 

debt and massively depressed by his

sad and lonely circumstance.

Though he ended it all in 1967 by murdering 

his landlady and subsequently committing

suicide, Joe Meek's legacy has grown in 

stature, with each new generation that 

has searched for greatness, and

found this classic song.

Now, the incredible "Telstar", 

following a totally unrelated 

photo, taken from my vast, 

personal collection of

unrelated photos.

Mozz the Elder

www.vapormusic.com

BONUS!! Joe Meek's demo of Telstar!!

Classic Song 44 - Steely Dan "Kid Charlamagne"

Let's talk about classic music.

Synonymous with the term 'classic music',

the name Steely Dan conjures up memories

of my touring days in the 70s, especially with

Rhinegold, since our master soundman, Bob

Shindle, used to 'tune' our PA to each club

environment by playing various great 

sounding records through the board, 

including The Royal Scam.

I remember being in Halifax, setting up at

the infamous Zapata's (where our dressing

room was, in fact, the men's restroom), and 

hearing the jazzy opening strains of Steely's 

"Kid Charlamagne" signal that our PA was

ready for action. But before the band began

our full soundcheck, Bob and I listened to

KC a bit closer, noticing just how rich and

unadorned every instrument and vocal 

sounded. In particular, the drums had

that dry, in-your-face clarity that

Bob was able to effectively cop

for our drummer, Danny

Bourne's massive kit.

Though Steely Dan and Rhinegold

shared little, stylistically, we did both

aim for greatness: of song; of performance

AND of sound, and even though Larry and

I parted ways about a year after we played

our hearts out in Halifax, I will always

remember his huge musical influence

on me, not to mention the huge

musical influence Steely Dan

had on me and Bobby and

pretty well the rest of

the world, methinks.

Here's "Kid Charlamagne",

following a recently acquired

picture of yours truly, dressed

from head to toe in Malabar-

made stage clothes - circa

late '78 or early '79.

Mozz the Elder

www.vapormusic.com