when i first heard of this book about a month ago, i knew i had to get it quick. i finished half of it the first night i had it, and was done with it by the end of the next night. but as soon as i was done i knew that it deserved at least one more go through before putting down my thoughts.

it was initially described to me as bob writing essays on 66 songs that have influenced him. i can say that it is that, but quite a bit more. he never speaks about himself or his music here, and at no point is there a discussion as to what the criteria are for the selections. it just goes head first into the first one, and never stops. they vary in length between just a few paragraphs to some that are 5-6 pages. and although there is not a consistent format to each one, there are a few themes. he will always list the song and the artist who is singing it, and the year it was released. from there he may comment on the writer(s), the artist (if different), the song subject, the history of the song, and anything else he feels might color the picture a little better. he also starts off quite a few of them by riffing in only the way he can, creating stream of consciousness manifestos on the characters or subjects of the song at hand. less occasionally, he will use the song or artist as a jumping off point to go into forays about the state of our world today, be it consumerism, war, drugs, media bias or divorce lawyers.

but all of that is just window dressing to what this book is all about – bob paying homage to the art and craft of songwriting. he started writing this in 2010, and i am guessing that he came back to a few of these a few times. when at his best, he points out things to you about the song or performance that you might not hear after listening a few times. a vocal phrasing, an unorthodox arrangement that somehow works, a crucial rhythm guitar part. a lyric that says just enough, or a phrase that could be taken multiple ways, or maybe one that keeps you guessing.

the songwriters and artists are all over the map here, from hank williams to the clash, from elvis presley to elvis costello, johnny cash to bobby darin. he dips into many genres, including country, blues, rock, soul, r&b and jazz.

the second time through the book i took more time to digest it, and then started doing something i had considered doing the first time through – getting off the couch and finding some of these songs that i had not heard before. or, if i did know the song, going back to it after bob points out something that had escaped me. i thought i knew the song ‘pancho and lefty’ pretty well, having at least 4-5 versions in my collection, including the original one by townes van zandt himself. bob touches on townes’ early tragic history, and speculates as to if that is what made him the writer that he was. he then spends some time on the willie nelson/merle haggard version of the song, and then delves into the two characters and fleshes out his vision of what really happened in that story. i will not hear that song the same again.

i expect that i will spend some portion of this winter doing some version of the above – picking the book up off of the table in the man cave, finding a chapter that speaks to me, and then finding the song on youtube and doing a deep dive into it.

and i think that is what bob would have wanted.

in 2019 the tedeschi trucks band decided to present ‘layla and other assorted love songs’ by derek and the dominos in its entirety for their appearance at the lock’n festival. they eventually released that as a live album last summer. a number of weeks ago i was scheduled to see them play at a venue in buffalo, and started looking at their setlists to see what they were currently playing. i began to notice songs that they were regularly playing that i did not recognize, and became aware that they had some new material coming out. more importantly, the new material was being released in a rather unorthodox fashion, and there was a unique story behind the album.

first, the story. when the pandemic hit in 2020, the band found themselves not being able to get together to record or tour. mike mattison, one of their lead singers, began reflecting on the lyrics that he had had to learn for that layla gig. knowing that the title track was inspired by a book that eric clapton had read, he decided to read that book/poem during some of his downtime. ‘the story of layla and majnun’ is a 12th century epic written by the persian poet nizami, and tells the tale of two lovers who fell deeply in love when they were young, but their romance was thwarted by fate. majnun was his nickname, which translates as ‘madman’, because he eventually goes mad due to his undying love for layla (her family will not allow the marriage). clapton related to this due to his similar situation with pattie boyd, who was then married to his best friend, george harrison. mattison felt that the songs on ‘layla’ were from clapton’s/majnun’s perspective. after reading the book, he realized that layla was an important character as well, and deserved to have her side of the story told. so he invited everyone to also read the book, and consider writing some songs around this idea. it seems the band really took to the concept, and the project grew and grew as the pandemic wore on. mattison is quick to point out the project was not meant to be a counterpoint to the original album, nor was it meant to be a musical score to the book – just a starting point to explore the question: ‘are we really, in the end, in love with the dream of love’.

as the project grew, they had enough for a double album of original material. instead of releasing it all at once, they have been releasing it as four individual ep length snippets, one per month. the third came out last friday, and the last installment will be at the end of this month. after that i understand you will be able to get the whole thing in one deluxe packaging edition. each release has also been accompanied by a full length video of the whole thing, artfully done by mattison’s ex wife.

after successfully consuming the first three, i think i can safely say this is the best studio album they have ever done. the songwriting is shared by many members of the band, and the addition of gabe dixon as their new keyboardist has added new vocal and writing elements. derek is his usual spectacular self, and susan’s vocals have never been better. there are a wide variety of musical styles – blues songs from susan, a little feat sounding ‘gravity’ from dixon, to an allman brothers epic instrumental rave up from the rhythm section, ‘pasaquan’.

along with the full length videos they also put out a few informational videos about the original concept and making of the record. i will embed below. as a big fan of this new record, and the original layla, i decided to read the book as well. not required to understand everything here, but very interesting.

as i mentioned above, i did catch them on tour, and can also say with confidence that they are peaking in their live shows. i have seen them three times in the last year, and this was the best of the three. los lobos opened for them at a very cool venue called artpark, an outdoor theater overlooking the niagara river gorge. thanks to my friends in buffalo that made it possible. susan and derek joined the band from east la for a couple of songs. overall one of the best shows i have seen in some time. go out and see them if you can.

if you have followed wilco for as long as i have, you may have begun to think that as a band they were about to go by the wayside. in the last five years, frontman jeff tweedy has released four solo albums, but only one with wilco. and then they go out and release their longest studio album ever. ‘cruel country’ clocks in at 77 minutes with 21 songs, and it may be their finest work in years. although tweedy’s previous band – uncle tupelo – is often lumped in with the generation of bands that began to be referred to as ‘alt – country’, tweedy himself has often bristled at the notion that wilco had much of anything to do with the country genre.

but in an essay he penned in conjunction with the release of the new album, he tried to explain why
they decided to return to the genre, and at the same time tie it in with lyrics that often reference the
other definition of country. the title track is an observation on his feelings about his home country, both
proud and disappointed. there are a few other tracks that have some political content, but written in a
reflective and timeless way.

there has been a lot written about this album in regards to the band returning to their earlier country
roots, and that this is a ‘country’ album, but I am not sure I totally buy into that. yes, there are a handful of songs that would fit well on a flying burrito brothers album, but there are a lot more that sound like they would fit well on wilco’s ‘sky blue sky’ record. It seems to me more of a folk/rock/pop tangent, with an occasional nod to country elements.

more importantly, it all flows together really well. much of it was recorded live in their chicago studio,
and on many songs there is a sense of spontaneity in their playing. i have been listening to it non stop
over the last few days and it just seems to get better. consider it for a great addition to your summer evening playlist.

i mentioned in my last post that i was lucky to catch mavis staples at jazzfest in new orleans a couple of weeks ago. unbeknownst to me, this album was set for release just this past friday. it captures a visit she and her band made to levon’s barn in woodstock in the summer of 2011. after a few days of kicking around some songs there, they eventually put on a live show for 200 or so lucky locals – her band combined with his.

mavis and levon had gone way back, first getting to know each when recording ‘the weight’ together for the ‘last waltz’ documentary in 1975. pops staples, her father, had been impressed by the gospel reference to nazareth, and that recording is one of my favorite parts of the movie.

twelve interesting covers, many of them gospel oriented. two by her father, but also songs by dylan, curtis mayfield, buddy and julie miller, larry campbell (who is on guitar here), and a few others. one of my favorites is ‘you got to move’, by mississippi fred mcdowell and reverand gary davis, made famous by the stones on ‘sticky fingers’. the version here is much more upbeat then keith and mick’s version.

much to love here, as there is clearly a chemistry in the air – not just the two headliners, but both bands. it was one of levon’s last recordings, as he would be gone by the next year. might be something to get for your memorial day party.