Tag Archives: Paul McCartney

Music Journalism A-Z – Gloria Stavers

Posted on by Musicofourheart

Gloria Stavers

My first recollection of reading a music journalist with any regularity was Gloria Stavers, editor in chief of 16 Magazine. Stavers was credited with being one of the first women rock and roll journalists. Her vibrant personality carried across as both a fan and a knowledgeable source of information.

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I find it ironic that I also had a teeny bopper phase that helped to formulate my experience with music. It is the reason I curb my tongue when it comes to Justin Bieber. I had a paper route in those days as a Norwalk Hour news carrier. I would strap a transistor radio to the handle bars and listen to the WMCA Good Guys or the WABC All American disk jockeys on AM radio out of New York City. I always made it a point to buy the latest monthly issue of 16 Magazine at Espositos Variety in South Norwalk where I picked up my papers to deliver. I would devour that magazine cover to cover. 16 Magazine was one of the best informed sources about the British Invasion. I had that paper route two years from 1964 through 1966. So I had plenty of pocket-money to buy 16 Magazine plus lots of comic books ;)

Tony Barrow, the Press Officer to The Beatles, credits Stavers with providing “significant help” towards the task of fast-tracking the band to the top of the US charts. In the months before their first visit to the US, a real volume of the editorial space in 16 was given over to The Beatles. Paul McCartney remembered Gloria as being “very dignified, professional and totally business-like. She inspired respect from us all”.

16 Magazine: Aug

Tributes

I urge you to visit the Gloria Stavers Tribute Blog created by Karen Steele. You’ll find great pictures of Gloria Stavers like this one there along with other invaluable writings and memorabilia.

November '65

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Dave Grohl’s Alegiance to Sound City Galvanizes His Music Direction

Posted on by Musicofourheart

Little did everyone realize that when Dave Grohl announced at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park NYC on September 30, 2012 that he was taking a hiatus from the Foo Fighters the significance of that pivot point in his music career.

Before playing ‘Learn To Fly’, the group’s fourth song of the night, Grohl said: “Without making a big deal out of it, we
don’t have any shows after this. This is it, man. Honestly I don’t know when we’re gonna do it again…and this is the perfect place to do it.”

Krist Novoselic, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl has been incredibly busy since that event. He played drums at the Kennedy Center Honors for Led Zeppelin on December 3rd. He appeared with Sir Paul McCartney and members of Nirvana at 12-12-12 and then on the Christmas SNL show.

Sound City Studios

Dave has produced a labor of love movie about Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California, Sound City. This studio has been the birthplace of many of the greatest recordings in rock and roll history. The studio has since closed but we get to visit it once again through the miracle of  the camera lens.

I really feel like SOUND CITY is my life’s most important work. I hope you do too. – Dave Grohl

Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin, Copyright Kevin Estrada

Sound City

There is a companion motion picture soundtrack, Real to Reel with many new tracks recorded through the 1970′s Neve Sound Board Dave Grohl purchased from Sound City Studios.

The making of this film and the soundtrack initiates the nucleus of an innovative sound direction for Grohl and friends.

Dave Grohl will debut a new supergroup, named Sound City Players, at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where the Sound City movie will début reports Rolling Stone. The track listing above gives a good sign as to who that new supergroup may feature ;)

2013 promises to be an extremely busy and productive year for Dave Grohl. He will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on March 14. He will also be drumming on the forthcoming Queens Of The Stone Age album.

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Paul McCartney, Martin Short SNL Skit

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I thought Paul McCartney and Martin Short were so campy together when they did this bit on SNL on 12/15/12.

Short and McCartney play a duo of Christmas singers, Caleb & Monty. Short won’t let McCartney sing, but when Short’s character storms off, the set falls away to allow McCartney to perform “Wonderful Christmastime” with the children’s choir—a perfect ending to the holiday episode.

(Click the image below and watch the SNL skit after the obligatory 15 second advertisement)

Pageant Audition

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Who is Your Favorite Lead Singer of All Time?

Posted on by Musicofourheart

I was posed a formative question recently. “Who Is Your Favorite Lead Singer of All Time?”

Since I wasn’t given any criteria to base my decision upon I created a short criteria list.

1) It must be someone I have seen live in person so I can speak to the quality of their voice, along with their vocal range and in-person impact.

2) It has to be someone that I feel an energy about, a charisma, whose music and voice touch my heart and soul

3) It must be a lead singer that I can identify with and relate to

Based upon the criteria and the lead singers I have seen perform live I have to say Paul McCartney is my favorite lead singer of all time. We have seen Paul McCartney four times live in concert. Each time he went above and beyond with his vocal delivery, the songs he has written are universal and timeless. They speak to the heart and soul in a special way. It just so happens Paul McCartney is my wife’s favorite music artist and that galvanizes my sentiment about Paul McCartney even more.

Coca-Cola Music and Spotify, A Strategic Partnership

Posted on by Musicofourheart

The Olympic Games begin on July 27, a scant six days from now. Coca-Cola has a long-standing history with the Olympics. They are the longest continuous sponsor of the Olympics since 1928. The world will be focused on London, England and international competition. The purpose of this blog post is to share what is known about the strategic partnership between Coca-Cola and Spotify.

The London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games unites us all. I love that music plays a strategic role in motivating us for the  Olympiad. Every time I see the  London Calling  commercial by British Airways I bristle with anticipation. It’s raised The Clash, “The Only Band That Matters” to a new level with a new audience. Here is the UK version… (Go Team USA!)

The Olympics opening ceremony will be closed out by Paul McCartney. This video from Paul is a great tongue in cheek about the pull the plug curfew incident.

Before I digress any further about the Olympics and music, let me get back to the reason for this blog post. Yesterday we celebrated Spotify’s First Year Birthday in the U.S.A. I discovered during my research that a strategic partnership has formed between Coca-Cola and Spotify. I find this partnership appealing on multiple levels.

Under the terms of the agreement, Spotify will be the key underlying technology for Coca-Cola Music globally, supporting the brand’s mission to give consumers universal access to music. In addition, Coca-Cola will integrate Spotify into its Facebook presence and Timeline, creating a seamless social music experience. This partnership takes advantage of the existing Spotify relationship with Facebook and the Coca-Cola Facebook audience of over 40 million fans to create a social experience that will reach millions of interconnected consumers around the world.

According to Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, ”Spotify and Coca-Cola both believe that music, technology and creativity can connect people around the globe.”

The main level of appeal for me is the technology initiative between the two companies. I teach an ethical hacking course and I am learning that music hack events (called hackdens, hackjams, hackathons) abound these days. The video from the Coca-Cola Press Center shows how energized Spotify & Coca-Cola and hackers got with their April 14-15 2012 hackden in New York City (if only I had known….)

The winning software development team was London Calling. The new app will be unveiled for the 2012 Olympics in London. Musicofourheart will get back to you when the app launches!

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Paul and Linda McCartney’s RAM

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This week saw the reissue of Paul and Linda McCartney‘s album, RAM, originally released on May 21, 1971. It speaks to the period of Paul and Linda’s life when they spent a simple, happy time together on their farm on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland.

As I listen to the original twelve tracks many warm feelings come flooding back to me. Rosemary played this recording all the time when we were dating in 1971. It was an 8-track favorite in the Chevrolet Monte Carlo audio system.

Reel forward to 2012 where you now have the 24 Bit 96 kHz High Resolution digital edition which contains 8 bonus tracks plus 2 digital only tracks.

For the ultimate collector you also have the prized deluxe box set edition.

Sir Paul McCartney and the MPL Communications Ltd. team have performed a stellar job in unarchiving and packaging the McCartney catalog. RAM makes a fine addition to the deluxe box set series as Sir Paul explains:

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npr music First Listen: Paul McCartney, Kisses on the Bottom

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I am assured to see npr music and Paul McCartney teaming up to give a first listen to the entire recording of Kisses on the Bottom. Just yesterday I posted about Paul McCartney’s forthcoming classic songbook work. Now we can all listen to it before it’s available on February 6, 2012.

We can do it, just me and you :)

Paul McCartney.

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Paul McCartney, Technology + Collaboration

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Members of the Paul McCartney Fan club ( like us) can order the high-resolution deluxe digital download edition of Paul McCartney’s Kisses on the Bottom recording. This package includes two extra tracks, “Baby’s Request” and “My One and Only Love“, plus access to a free live download on February 14th, Valentine’s Day.

Paul McCartney is very meticulous in his recording methods. The high-resolution production process utilized is described by engineer Allan Rouse of Abbey Road Studios:

The audio industry has seen many technical innovations since Paul McCartney and Wings’s Band on the Run was first released on vinyl in 1973, the most notable being digital recording. However, with the introduction of CD came two advances, “de-noising” and “peak limiting” which have become increasingly unpopular within certain areas of the music industry and amongst audiophiles.

De-noising was introduced to remove the inherent sound, or hiss, associated with analogue tape. The amount of processing used to remove tape noise can be varied, but when used excessively, many believe that it also has a detrimental effect on elements of the musical sound.

Copyright 2012 Paul McCartney Website

Peak limiting is a process that increases the loudness of music. It is achieved by holding the loudest peaks down and raising the overall level of the music. Much depends on the amount of limiting applied, but at its most extreme the result can be a serious reduction in the dynamic range and often audible distortion.

The release of The Beatles’ remasters in 2009 saw a marked change in attitudes towards these issues, where both noise reduction and limiting were used sparingly with the aim of representing the master tapes more accurately. Such is the case with the newly remastered Paul McCartney and Wings CD of Band on the Run: tape noise reduction has scarcely been used and the degree of limiting is subtle. In addition digital technology has advanced with the ability now to offer recordings in 24 bit/96kHz/16 track. The high resolution version is being made available via download and is being offered in two formats: limited, which is comparable in volume to the remastered CD, and un-limited, which in comparison with the limited version will sound quieter, but retain the dynamic range of the original master recording.

Rosemary and I love most about Paul (in addition to his ability to leverage technology) is his incurable romantic personality. The timing of this new album, just a week before Valentine’s Day makes it the perfect gift for your Valentine.

Copyright 2012 Paul McCartney Website

The majority of the tracks are solo efforts with the exception of  two  Paul McCartney written songs, “My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts”.

Eric Clapton plays guitar on “My Valentine”.

Stevie Wonder collaborates with Paul McCartney on “Only Our Hearts”. This marks the 30th anniversary of their classic hit, “Ebony and Ivory“.

Stevie Wonder joined Paul McCartney at LA’s Capitol Studios to record the track.

Paul McCartney spoke about working with Stevie again.

Copyright 2012 Paul McCartney Website

“Stevie came along to the studio in LA and he listened to the track for about ten minutes and he totally got it. He just went to the mic and within 20 minutes had nailed this dynamite solo. When you listen you just think, ‘How do you come up with that?’ But it’s just because he is a genius, that’s why.”

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Our Top 5 Concerts of 2011

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We attended 32 live performances in 2011. We love our role as patrons of the arts. 2011 proved to be a dynamic year for music. It’s a challenge to pinpoint only the Top 5 concerts from this extensive and varied list.

The one persistent theme that drives my rationale centers upon artists I have long waited to see live. I finally got to see Charles Lloyd, The Radiators, Joe Sample, Anthony Braxton, Paul Simon, Todd Rundgren, Johnny Rivers, Burton Cummings, Lucinda Williams, TOP & AWB, and Chris Botti. These artists represent a third of the music performances we witnessed.

Concerts 2011

1. Bowsers Doo Wop Gig 1/16
2. Charles Lloyd Quartet 1/28
3. Taj Mahal, Los Lobos 2/19
4. Patti Smith 2/16
5. The Radiators 2/26
6. Joe Sample 4/5
7. Bob Seger 4/16
8. Roger McGuinn, 4/23
9. Crosby & Nash 5/22
10. King For A Day 2/23
11. Anthony Braxton Septet 5/20
12. Paul Simon 5/29
13. 7 Walkers 8/12
14. Garland Jeffreys 6/5
15. Todd Rundgren 6/26
16. Happy Together Tour 7/9
Turtles, The Association, Mark Lindsay, The Buckinghams
17. Manzarek-Rogers Band 5/25
18. Johnny Rivers 6/18
19. Jimmy Webb 7/28
20. Renaissance 9/16
21. Paul McCartney 7/16
22. Nighthawks Infinity Stars Party 8/20
23. Patti Smith 12/2
24. Burton Cummings 7/2
25. Gary Puckett 8/11
26. Jon Anderson & Rick Wakeman 11/2
27. Janis Ian 8/27
28. Lucinda Williams 11/1
29. Tedeschi Trucks Band 10/29
30. Stephen Stills 10/21
31. Tower of Power, Average White Band 11/17
32. Chris Botti 12/28

Top 5 Concerts of 2011

1. January 28, 2011,  The Charles Lloyd New Quartet, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Ct.

I have been a fan of Charles Lloyd for 40+ years. I savor the opportunity to have heard Charles Lloyd, one of jazz’s living legends, play in such an intimate, acoustic setting. The blog post I wrote about Charles Lloyd earned me a free pair of tickets to any Wesleyan concert we wished to attend in the future. That was a very nice complement from Wesleyan, a renowned world music university I value and respect. Here is that concert review.

2. May 11, 2011, Crosby-Nash – The Palace Theater, Stamford, Ct.

The Palace is one of our favorite venues. The David Crosby and Graham Nash concert was broadcast live on HDnet that evening. The added value of a live broadcast with two famous singer/songwriters created a focused, magical experience. The concert is available on DVD and we have watched it over the holidays.

3. June 18, 2011, Johnny Rivers, Mohegan Sun Wolf Den, Uncasville, Ct.

Mohegan Sun went all out this year. They celebrated in high style their 15th anniversary as an entertainment complex. The Wolf Den calendar offered a lot of quality choices for free to patrons willing to wait online to attend the shows. My brother-in-law’s favorite artist is Johnny Rivers. We were excited to get him inside to see Johnny Rivers live.

Johnny Rivers was in excellent voice and proved to be a proficient guitarist. I was blown away by his showmanship and the number of hits he has made famous. Here is the set list from the concert.

4. July 2, 2011, Burton Cummings, Mohegan Sun Wolf Den, Uncasville, Ct.

I have been a fan forever of Burton Cummings, of The Guess Who. To me he has one of the best soulful voices in all of rock and roll. He and his band were kick ass great. He is a true legend and it was wonderful to see him at long last. Here is my blog post concert review of that evening.

5. July 16, 2011, Paul McCartney, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

What can I say, its Paul McCartney live at Yankee Stadium. Here’s what I wrote about that amazing summer evening.

The New Paul McCartney Website and More!!!!

Posted on by Musicofourheart
Image representing Hewlett-Packard as depicted...

Image via CrunchBase

I love that Sir Paul McCartney is constantly reinventing himself. His latest ventures take us further into Web 3.0,with a rich multimedia experience accompanied by a vastly redesigned Website. The first hint I had of this new technology direction was an advertisement in the tour program booklet we picked up at the McCartney concert at Yankee Stadium this past summer.

The Website is powered by technology partner HP. The collaboration between HP and McCartney MPL Communications Ltd. is very exciting and stimulating for McCartney fans.

Sir Paul McCartney announced his brand new as yet untitled album yesterday in a press release on his blog :) The first of his new songs that he has recorded only using his voice as an instrument is entitled, “My Valentine.” It is available as a preview for McCartney Collection Premium Account Members ($50). It is a striking recording that will reach your heart in a new musical fashion.

The premium account membership includes access to premium content, a lithograph, a plectrum, 4 button badges, membership card and letter, a t-shirt and high quality MP3 320kbs recordings of Good Evening New York City and Live at Hyde Park.

There is a lot to explore at McCartney.com. Go reacquaint yourself with your Beatle fan self. You know you want to ;)

Have a wonderful Christmas time. Gotta love that Abe on the drums with the bells and his Christmas cap :)

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