Just a few quick notes….
– I ended last week’s blog post with a joke about Kool and the Gang. Within hours of submitting it there was an announcement that the group’s lead singer Ronald ‘Khalis’ Bell passed away at the age of 69. I was sorry to hear this. A reader of the blog implored me to not make any jokes about Betty White. You got it. I will also make this blog a Keith Richards joke-free zone.
– Also after sending in last week’s blog it was announced that Bruce Springsteen (my favorite artist) will be releasing a new album with the E Street Band on October 23rd. He also released the title track (Letter To You) as the first single. Exciting news for me and other fans of The Boss. I do have a couple small negatives though…
I don’t especially care for the name of the record. It’s a bit too generic and forgettable. I swear I’ve looked up the name of the song/album ten times in the past week… it’s just not sticking in my tiny little brain.
As for the single itself, I like it a lot. It’s reminiscent of his mid 80’s Born In The USA work… songs like “Be True” and “This Hard Land”. The one thing missing is that signature E Street saxophone sound. Sure, Clarence Clemons passed away a few years ago, but in his absence the Big Man’s nephew Jake has joined the band on the road. I hope he’s also part of this studio album, because he’s missed on the “Letter To You” song (and yes, I had to look up at the previous paragraph for the title again).
The track listing includes a few songs that Springsteen initially wrote in the early 70’s and were part of of his solo audition/demo for CBS Records executive John Hammond Sr. (the same guy that discovered Bob Dylan). I have a copy of these demo recordings so am very interested in how these tunes sound with a full band, especially “If I Was A Priest“, which is my favorite of these old songs.
“If I Was A Priest” would’ve been a pretty good name for the disc, although I suppose there are a bunch of easy jokes that could be made about it (some of which I’m refraining from putting here myself). Now that I think about it the record’s title isn’t that big a deal anyway (especially if the songs are great). Everyone is just going to call it “the new Springsteen album” anyways… at least until the next one after this comes out.
Preorder (glancing up) “Letter To You” here…
– A couple other upcoming releases I’m excited about include “Private Lives” by Philly band Low Cut Connie (October 13th) and “Hey Clockface” by Elvis Costello (October 30th).
The live stream rock and roll shows by Adam Weiner and Will Donnelly of LCC have been a blessing and a savior during my pandemic induced self isolation, and they have performed a number of the songs on the new record many times. The first few singles are out there, but I’m looking forward to adding the whole thing to my collection. Their new single is called “Help Me“.
Check out Low Cut Connie’s website for all the cool stuff you can buy along with the album… everything from shirts and posters to a fragrance (full of “hope and intrigue” according to them) , and even a yarmulke.
As for the new Costello record “Hey Clockface”… THAT’S A GREAT TITLE!!! I haven’t had to look it up once since I first read about it a few weeks ago.
Back on July 3rd I wrote about Elvis Costello, and how if given a choice it would be his catalogue of music I’d take with me if stranded on a desert island. Read it here. Now I guess I’ll have to have someone airdrop this one to my island. You can preorder it here.
– Don’t forget we’re only a week away from the second Record Store Day drop. I’ll finally be able to get that “The Soft Parade (Stripped)” release by The Doors that I’ve been waiting for since spring.
I’m outta here for this week. I have a stack of new comic books to read. I’m going to escape into a fantasy world where Batman and his allies help good cops deal with criminals, bad cops, and a corrupt mayor. Hmmm… maybe I’ll start with the Spider-Man book instead.
If you have comments about the stuff I write, or just want to say hi, feel to reach out via email or social media.
RadioBillyD@gmail.com @RadioFreeBillyD on Twitter Billy D’Ettorre on Facebook
Stay safe. Stay sane. -Billy