N°119 - 3 DOORS DOWN - KRYPTONITE

A few songs back I went to Mississippi and already I return there when talking about the American rock band 3 Doors Down. They’re a band best known for the single I’ve used in the link which is an obvious link while using having Superman mentioned the song before. Kryptonite is also their first single ever released by them in the year 2000. Many call them a one hit wonder but if so then these critics are countered by the fact that not many one hit wonders produce five full albums in twelve years.

Following the hit single, 3 Doors Down got signed by Republic Records and they were given the chance to produce their first album A Better Life. I’m not a critic or anything and this blog is not made to promote any artist, song or album but I must agree with those who say this is their most decent album. One can still discuss if the 2002 Away From The Sun album is also as good as the primus but everything after I just don’t like for myself. This second album by the way overshadowed the first when it comes to copies sold. 3 Doors Down were a successful rock band.

Formed by drummer and vocalist Brad Arnold, guitar bass player Todd Harrell and lead guitar by Matt Roberts they started as a rock cover band. Over time Brad Arnold stated to write his own songs and these were mainly used for the band’s first album. After a while guitar player Chris Henderson joined the band and the first song Kryptonite saw the light as mentioned above followed by the album ‘A Better Life’. On that same album you’ll also find the song ‘Loser’ which I personally think is also a pretty darn good song.

For the next album a drummer got hired while another one did the tour. While the basis of the band stayed together the drums were manned by different people on different occasions. When I think of two songs on the first album I can only find one single worth mentioning on the second: ‘When I’m Gone’. Yet it was a very successful album to them.

After touring the band hosted their own benefit concert. These benefits would be held on a yearly base from 2003 on. 

Their popularity kept growing and when releasing ‘Seventeen Days’, their third studio album and again they went on tour. This time side by side with the band Lynerd Skynerd both headlining fifty-fifty on a tour around the USA. Again there’s only one song that got stuck in my memory and that’s ‘Landing In London’, a soft ballad like song.

Once more they’d dive into the studios and came out to present us the self-titled album in 2008 with more of the same. Songs like ‘It’s Not My Name’ and ‘Train’ aren’t that bad at all but when listening to it they don’t always live up to my expectations. Sorry for the fans but that’s just my opinion. They managed to record a Christmas song by the end of 2009 and this is actually where I think they went wrong. A true rock band does not, never ever, make a song meant for Christmas. Never !!! Luckily it was released to the world digitally and to my knowledge it doesn’t appear on their latest album.

Time Of My Life was recorded in 2010 and released halfway 2011. The band chose ‘When You’re Young’ to be the first single and ‘Every Time You Go’ as the second. Soft titles and soft songs. That’s what happens when a rock band makes Christmas carols. As always they started touring again but right after the tour around the USA and the UK had finished it was clear that Matt Roberts would leave the band with health issues.

Nowadays it is rumoured they’re working on a greatest hits album for 2013. We’ll see what it’ll bring but I’m sure it will find its way to the true fans.

N°118 THE BIG PINK - HIT THE GROUND SUPERMAN

A British duo, Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell, bringing us music lovers a mixture of electronic music and rock. Not a very long existing band so far since they started out back in 2007 but since then, they managed to produce two albums called Brief History Of Love in 2009 and Future This, from early this year.

Both artists started of independently from each other on their own labels, respectively Hate Channel and Merok Records. In between 2007, when they decided to co-operate with each other and 2009 they were able to release a few singles on old school 12’’, all produced on a limited base. Neither of them wanted to take The Big Pink in on their label so these releases went on the 4AD label. All of these singles can be found on the first album A Brief History Of Love. A week before the release they promoted it by launching another single called ‘Dominos’ and following the release they toured Europe, the USA and Japan. This again led to being the supporting act for Muse on their UK Arena tour in 2010. For this The Big Pink thanked Muse with a nice remix of Muse’s song ‘Undisclosed Desires’

A second album was destined to follow rather quickly but release was only foreseen at the start of 2012. So far two singles were released from this album. The first was ‘Lose Your Mind’. A song which opens with a sample of the song ‘Happy House’ by Siouxsie and The Banshees. Personally I picked them up with the second single ‘Hit The Ground Superman’ which was a big hit in my home country.

Superman will by the way be the link into the next song. About the link with Feist I can be brief. Just check the line-up for Pukkelpop festival 2012. They were both on it on the opening day. Unfortunately two other bands (Apocalyptica and Isbells) I wanted to see were scheduled at the same time so I missed out on them. Maybe next time. Since Robbie and Milo do the mixes and electronics on stage they’re accompanied by a drummer (Akiko Matsuura) and a bass guitar player (Adam Prendergast or Leopold Ross) whenever performing a live set. Will Superman hit the ground or will he land smoothly? Up to you to decide.

N°117 - FEIST - MY MOON, MY MAN

Amarain means Two Moons in Arabic so the song posted matches perfectly with the previous one.

I’ve been looking for a while to fit Leslie Feist in since I think she’s a great musician and performer but until now it never worked. I posted her as a solo artist but you might also know her from the rock band Broken Social Scene, an art pop, post rock, shoegaze band with a rotating membership up to a maximum of nineteen performers, and Feist is one of them.

Both her solo career as her band membership started in 1999. She put a first record on the shelves by the name Monarch. Born out of two artistic parents (none in music though) it was clear that Leslie Feist would become an artist as well and she laid her heart into music. It actually started when she, as a fifteen year old, became lead vocalist of a local band called Placebo. This is how she met Brandon Canning who invited her years later to join the band Broken Social Science. In time she had learned to play bass- and lead guitar and she was ready to try it solo as well. Her first album Monarch though never made the charts and her solo career was close to die an early death.

Feist started touring with different bands such as Gonzales the following years and at the same time she recorded private demo tapes which she started called The Red Demos. Only three years later she’d find the time and courage to re-record The Red Demos and release a first successful album by the name Let It Die. From this album I’ve taken My Moon My Man for the obvious linking reasons but other than this song there’s also the fabulous Mushaboom. The album won the Album of The Year Canadian Juno Awards and Feist her name was made. The album contained both her own songs as personal interpretations of existing songs.

Again Feist would start collaborating with different other bands and artists such as the British Jane Birkin. In between she’s touring around the globe with her solo project. Her home base moved from Saskatchewan, Canada to the global city Paris, France. Making an international name for herself she was asked to contribute to the Unicef song Do They Know It’s Halloween and in her French period she also starts to gain interests in making movies and her first project is for the soundtrack of the 2006 movie Paris Je t’Aime. In 2006 she again returns to Paris where she uses her network of people to produce a third album by the name The Reminder.

The reminder is being released first in Europe in 2007 and again she goes on a world tour. Again she takes the prizes at the 2008 Juno Awards for Album Of The Year and finally her song 1234 makes it to the top ten in the US Billboard. She also appears with this song on Sesame Street having children to count until four. She’d also appear as a cameo in The Muppets movie last year. Whenever she makes a presence at a movie she usually plays herself.

After taking a long break from Broken Social Science she joins the band again in 2009 for the release of the band’s biography. She promises to join them on a few tours and contributes to the band’s latest album as well. And after these tours she dives back in the studio to create yet another great album named Metals. Released in 2011 it was given the best critics once more elevating her song writing skills. Also in 2001 and elder Feist song; ‘Limit To Your Love’; was being covered by James Blake becoming a huge hit throughout the most of Northern Europe. Nowadays she plans to make a 7 inch split record in cooperation with metal band Mastodon. Feist would cover a few Mastodon songs where Mastodon would interpret some of her songs. But first we grasp back to a classic Feist single: My Moon, My Man. Enjoy listening.

N°116 AMR DIAB - AMARAIN

Amr Diab (I won’t try to write down his full name since it’s too long and complicated) is an Egyptian singer of a music style called Al-Jeel, a typical Arabic poppy music style. It contains mixtures of Arabian and Western music styles. His popularity led him to four World Music Awards for best selling Asian artist.

His first album Ya Tariq (The Road) saw the light in 1983 but he’d score his first hit in 1988 with the song Majaal, still one of his biggest successes. For his first worldwide hit song he’d have to wait for another thirteen years until the release of the single Habibi (My Darling). This single was remixed uncountable times by many DJ’s and found its way to the shelves of the western music stores. His duets are also quite known in the Arabic. Due to linking reasons I’ve chosen to post the song Amarain which means two moons. In 2004 he scored a number one success in the whole of Asia with his album El Laila (This Night).

Amr also tried an acting career and he shared the white screen with Omar Sharif; less successful though.

You also might wonder why I jump from the USA to Egypt but the link has geographical roots. Since the previous song mentions the Mississippi Delta I’ve looked it up on a few maps and to my big surprise there’s a city named Cairo, originating close near the river. And Cairo is the capital of Egypt so I went on a search for an Egyptian performer and came up with Amr Diab. Simple no?

N°115 - MUDDY WATERS - MISSISSIPPI DELTA BLUES

McKinley Morganfield is probably an unknown name to most of you but when I say Muddy Waters it should ring a bell amongst blues lovers. Muddy, born in 1913 is an old school, black souled, blues artist. It all started when he was given a blues harp at an early age. He’d later trade it in for an acoustic guitar and from that point on it was clear McKinley was made to play music. His nickname “Muddy” was given to him by his grandmother when he was still a young boy. Later Muddy would become Muddy Waters as his stage name.

His first trip to Chicago in 1940 to make it as a musician turned out to be a disappointment. He had to return to his home town a year later. He started a local café with a little stage he used to perform from time to time. This is where Alan Lomax passed his joint and recorded the first Muddy Blues song. This is also the first Time he believed in his music and to make a career out of it. He received a cheque for this Library of Congress recording and he went back to Chicago to give his music career another shot. At first he combined playing the guitar with a regular job but then Big Bill Broonzy picked him up as his opening act. Muddy switched to an electric guitar and his own career took a flight.

In 1948 he scored the first two hits with songs as ‘I feel Like Going Home’ and ‘I Can’t Be Satisfied’ which opened the doors of the biggest blues clubs around Chicago. This lead to his best known song ‘Rollin Stone’. A song later picked up by Mick Jagger and his crew as his band name; also picked up by the world’s leading music magazine Rolling Stone Magazine. In the fifties, Muddy would form his own blues band and the success continued. He performed with the biggest blues musicians in the USA. Just listen to songs as ‘Sugar Boy’ and ‘Forty Days And Forty Nights’.

We’re talking 1958 when Muddy changes direction and tours around England where he discovers he has a huge amount of fans amongst white people who liked the sound of his electric blues combined with his great voice. In the sixties and seventies his music was put away for a while. Yet he kept recording with the biggest blues artists around the world. He even recorded a live session in London in 1972 and although being surrounded by great musicians he thought they couldn’t match his sound stating: “If you change my sound, you’ll change the whole man”.

Late 1970’s he makes a comeback LP named Hard Again, bringing Muddy back to his early Chicago sound. He starts touring again with James Cotton and the album will win a Grammy Award in 1978. That same year he’d bring back together some of his old partners to record another successfully album I’m ready. A year later the live Mississippi album was recorded with his regular band and it is said that only on this album you can hear him play just like he sits right next to you.  More albums followed but also the troubles came. His band asked more money for their contributions but Muddy’s manager didn’t give in. The band split shortly after. 

Muddy being close to his seventies cut back on performing in the nineteen eighties because of a problematic heart disease. He died of a heart failure in 1983 but in his 40 years of playing the blues on a professional level he influenced many music genres and many artists. I already mentioned Mick Jagger but he also helped out Chuck Berry early in his career. Jimi Hendrix also referred to him as his first icon. Other bands and artists would cover some of his songs. His songs also appear in different movies, especially movies situated around that era. He must one of the most influential people in the music business and that’s why he holds a position in the rock and roll hall of fame since 1987.