Will the Real Vince Gill Please Stand Up?

I discovered Vince Gill--well, I had been aware of him as a pop or country-pop singer, so I guess l rediscovered Vince Gill, a new Vince Gill--through videos from Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Fest, especially his scorching performance of "Sweet Thing" in (I think) 2007, the one with Bill Murray as MC. Since then I've managed to find other "killer guitar" tunes, including one of his early hits, "Oklahoma Border Line," on You Tube, along with some terrific blues, bluegrass and traditional country songs featuring Vince Gill with the Time Jumpers.

And I've read that Vince Gill has become one of many--but, perhaps, one of the most prominent, most influential--cheerleaders for the history of country music and for country music traditions.

So, anyway, I had never seen Vince Gill live, so my wife and I packed up a suitcase and drove for 5 hours to see him at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids, IA. And, well, I suddenly remembered my first impression of Vince Gill as a pop/country pop singer. I could close my eyes and easily imagine that that was Celine Dion down there singing his big hits. Let's put it this way. For the first half of the show, the greatest pedal steel guitar player in country music today, Paul Franklin, had almost nothing to do.

But I gotta be honest. When he played "When I Call Your Name," his first really big hit from 1990, and "Take Your Memory with You" and "I Still Believe in You" and "One More Last Chance," well, the place went wild. So, of course, he's got to play 'em.

But he did play some killer guitar--he closed the almost 3-hour show with "Oklahoma Border Line,"  finished up with "Liza Jane" for his encore, and he showed why he's one of the great guitar players in the world.

Still, I thought the highlight of the show came when he sang real, intimate country songs like "A World Without Haggard," dedicated of course to the memory of his friend Merle Haggard, who passed away earlier this year. It was a heartfelt, passionate vocal performance. Even better was "A Sad One Comin' On (A Tribute to George Jones)" from his latest LP, Down to My Last Bad Habit.
Also in that softer, more intimate and more heartfelt mood and more countrified style were the title track from that new LP and "The Old Lucky Diamond Motel" from 2011's Guitar Slinger.

But not only was the show more pop than country, it also dragged a couple other times as well. Like I said, Gill played for 3 hours without a break, and that's a good thing. But his band got a break as Gill played solo for 40-minutes. But he only played 4 songs, spending most of the 40 minutes on stand-up comedy. He told some hilarious stories about his relationship with his dad. One night his dad called him up with an idea for a song. "If you finish (writing) this song," daddy said, "and if you record this song, you'll be bigger than Elvis." Vince replied, "Daddy, if I finish this plate of food I've got here, I'll be bigger than Elvis." So, OK, it was pretty funny, but it wasn't what I drove 5 hours to see.

And, then, near the end of the show, he brought out his daughter, Jenny, now 34, who has decided she wants to be a singer. She sang 4 songs that I would describe as blue-eyed, or in her case, brown-eyed soul. The fourth song was Alex Chilton's "The Letter," and the band surely rocked out on it. Jenny has a strong, pretty, but pretty much untrained voice. It has a naturally pleasing timbre to it, but there's not much style or art to the delivery. Again, not what I drove 5 hours to see.

Still, there's plenty to admire about Vince Gill and his band. The 3-part vocal harmonies were very nicely done (I didn't get the names of the 2 backup singers). The second electric guitarist was damn good and Vince gave him plenty of solos on the more rock and roll types of songs. Paul Franklin was, well, Paul Franklin on the pedal steel, eventually getting a chance to shine on the more traditional-sounding numbers like "A Sad One Coming On"and "A World Without Haggard." Willie Weeks was terrific on the bass guitar. I had no idea he was playing with Gill--he comes from here in Minnesota, where I first saw him in the 1960s in a cover band called Michael's Mystics.

Gill played for 3 hours non-stop, without a break, and it seemed heartfelt enough when he said, more than once, how much he and his band just love to play music and how blessed he is that people want to come out and hear it. All the more reason why it was so jarring when his daughter cheerfully introduced herself by saying she was here to "promote my EP."

I guess Vince is stuck with his pop songs and his pop fans. But if you asked the real Vince Gill to please stand up, I do believe it would be the Haggard/George Jones-lovin,' guitar-slingin' Vince Gill that I've come to admire. The mix was a little bit unsatisfying. Overall grade: B.

Benny Golson. Bonnie Raitt. Booker T. Charlie Haden. Marty Stuart. Richard Thompson.

I’ve written once or twice in the past about FREE OUTDOOR SUMMER MUSIC. For the past several years, I’ve published a list of free outdoor summer music—OK, including a few indoor and/or not-free events as well. Long about tax day, my friends start emailing to say, Where’s your list? This year I published my list as always but a whole series of scheduling conflicts generally prevented us from attending many of the events. The highlight until recently had been seeing Booker T. Jones and the MGs as headliners of the Twin Cities Blues Festival at Mears Park in St. Paul.

Well, we made up for lost time over the past week or so. First we saw Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives at the (free) Leinie Lodge at the Minnesota State Fair, and they were indeed superlative. Then came a trip to Chicago where we saw Benny Golson and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra at the (free) Chicago Jazz Fest at Millenium Park, and then Richard Thompson and Bonnie Raitt at Ravinia (not free).

Let’s review in order of quality. That would be Charlie Haden, Marty Stuart, Richard  Thompson, Bonnie Raitt, Benny Golson and Booker T.

Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra

The only thing that could have made this a better experience is if Charlie was still with us. But bassist and composer Charlie Haden passed away 2 years ago at the age of 76. His band, thank goodness, continues to create and perform the most awesome jazz you can hear under the continuing leadership of his long-time collaborator—arranger, pianist and bandleader Carla Bley, now 80.

The Liberation Music Orchestra is a 12-piece band and while the bass, even in Charlie’s absence, continues to come forward with numerous solos, it comes across as mostly a brass band. The interplay of the 3 saxophones, 2 trumpets, trombone, French horn and tuba in terms of harmony and timbre is what really makes the Orchestra tick and cook and soar.

For example, I always thought that “Amazing Grace” was way overplayed. After hearing the Orchestra play Bley’s arrangement thereof, I realize it is rather vastly underplayed. It is played with too little passion, too little innovation, too little care, too little skill. When it is played with passion and innovation and skill, it is a gorgeous piece of music. Not only does Bley bring out the beauty of the song, the song too brings out the beauty of these brass instruments melding and clashing and infiltrating one another. What a beautiful performance.

Haden and Bley and the Liberation Orchestra go all the way back to the late ‘60s, and it has always had a leftist political bent. Early on it also had a strong Latino influence, as on my personal favorite, Charlie’s “Song for Che”—Che Guevara, that is. Regardless of your politics, the song soars and cries and screams and shouts, and also whispers on Charlie’s incredibly beautiful statement of the base melody on the bass. No, they didn’t play it the other night. But the idea of seeing Charlie’s Orchestra, even without Charlie, 40 years after discovering “Song for Che,” well, that was a bucket lister that I never imagined I would experience. Coming on the heels of 40 years of waiting, surely the concert would fail to meet my hopes and expectations. No. It met them with room to spare. A+.

Marty Stuart and His Incredible Superlatives

A week earlier I had seen Marty Stuart and he too more than met my expectations. He mostly played the rockabilly that he is mostly known for, but he is also a walking, talking, breathing repository of the history and soul of country music. And, so, frankly, the highlights were his trips down memory lane for Marty Robbins’ classic “El Paso” and the chestnut “Orange Blossom Special.”

On “El Paso” His Superlatives bassist Paul Martin and drummer Harry Stinson provided a gorgeous 3-part vocal harmony while guitarist Kenny Vaughan mimicked but also improvised and expanded on Grady Martin’s classic acoustic guitar accompaniment. On “Orange Blossom Special” Stuart improbably played it solo on the mandolin and made it almost as interesting as the usual fiddle arrangements. It was a total tour de force of stringed wizardry.

Very, very highly recommended. Stuart is a consummate professional and showman and not only knows how but is totally committed to providing solid entertainment and a great experience for the audience. A.

Richard Thompson Trio

Being honest, I rated Richard ahead of Bonnie (Raitt) largely because I had never seen Thompson whereas this was, oh, the 6^th or 7^th time (?) that I’ve seen Bonnie. I love Bonnie. But Richard was really terrific, and anybody who knows anything about Richard Thompson knows that means sizzling guitar work and powerful vocals on some mix of an expansive catalog of rocking (and/or folk-rock) tunes with incisive socially-aware lyrics. Meanwhile, his rhythm section of (I think) Michael Jerome, drums and vocals, and Taras Prodaniuk, bass and vocals, was just about as powerful as it gets.

He closed, just for instance, with the classic “Tear-Stained Letter” from maybe his best record, 1983’s Hand of Kindness, played at a break-neck pace with a totally pounding rhythm. “Cry and cry if it makes you feel better,” he sang, “Set it all down in a tear-stained letter.” I always assumed the song to be, well, sarcastic. In other words, “Cry and cry if it makes you feel better”…loser.

B+.

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie is well into elder-stateswoman status. She can do no wrong. Well, except maybe fail to play enough of her hits. And so, she did. Play her hits. Love Me Like A Man. No Business. I Can’t Make You Love Me. Dimming of the Day. Something to Talk About. Angel from Montgomery.

Her voice is in surprisingly wonderful shape compared to many of a similar age. She is a great slide guitar player. Her repertoire is as approachable as anybody’s. She is a likable persona on stage. And she delivered all of those things at Ravinia. I guess the only complaint is just that it’s the same old schtick. Except, yeah, I said already that that’s also her strong suit. Still, she’s not a revival band, not a caricature of her primetime self. She’s still the real deal. 

Meanwhile, I gotta mention...Ravinia. There's a covered amphitheater that seats, well, I'm not sure, 3,000 maybe? And then there's the "lawn" seating. Bring your blanket, bring your chairs, bring your candles and your wine and your wind-chimes and your favorite incense and your favorite friends and show everybody what an elaborate scene you can create on the lawn at Rivinia!!! OMG! And, by the way, you can't see the stage! Now, in fairness, the sound is great. They've gone to great lengths to get a good quality of sound out on the lawn. But it's 75 percent fashionistas and 25 percent music fans. Weird. 

Still, if you are there for the music, well, you can enjoy that after you've gotten over your total sense of amazement at the upwardly mobile social scene out front.

Still, I have to say: B+.

Benny Golson Quartet

Golson is an 87-year old saxophonist who played with Diz, Bird, you name it. And like Bonnie Raitt, his music still sounds fresh and new, he’s not some old guy going through the motions. To some degree, that’s thanks to a kick-ass band led by pianist Mike LeDonne, with Buster Williams on bass and Carl Allen on drums.

Still, the spotlight is on the incredibly lush tone that Golson still gets out of his saxophone. There are few or no histrionics, nothing fast and furious, just that beautiful tone, and that’s plenty good for me.

I have to add, as Golson did, by the way, that, like him, I have never seen an outdoor amphitheater as beautifully choreographed for music lovers--and lots of them--as this. The Pritzker Pavilion, that is, at Millennium Park. Super highly appreciated and recommended.

He closed with a jazz standard and the story of seeing Lawrence Welk play it on TV once upon a time. “The music,” Golson said, “was horrible!” but kind of like a train wreck (pardon the expression). A person couldn’t look away. Welk introduced the song saying, “Here’s a song by Duke Ellington, his theme song, ‘Take a Train.’” Could not stop laughing.

B+.

Booker T. and the MGs

Okay, this was way back in the heart of summer though what’s really different about it was that, frankly, it was a let-down. Booker T. still plays an admirable Hammond B3 at the age of 72. He’s not particularly dazzling technically, he doesn’t play anything fast, but he is a musician of immense taste. And when he closed with one of the great grooves in rock history, “Time Is Tight,” well, people were groovin.’

His band was pretty so-so, however. The guitarist, it turns out, is his son, and who’s gonna say that Booker T. Jones shouldn’t go out on tour with his kid? “Father and Son Blues” was, in fact, about the only non-classic that he played, and it was pleasing enough. Otherwise he and the MGs played his classics including songs on which he performed as a sideman, such as Otis Redding’s “Respect,” which Booker T., surprisingly, sang. He sang a bunch of tunes, in fact--"Hey Joe." "Purple Rain" and more--and surprisingly Muddy Waters “I’m A Man” was probably his best vocal. The guy’s got a nice blues voice, you know, surprisingly.

He also played some guitar, surprisingly. He’s an admirable musician, both in terms of his catalog and career and the way he still plays today. But it was a pretty understated show with not a lot of energy.

C.

Top Songs

1. Amazing Grace--Liberation Music Orchestra

2. El Paso--Marty Stuart

3. Time Is Tight--Booker T.

4. Song for the Whales--LMO

5. I Can't Make You Love Me--Bonnie Raitt

6. Tear-Stained Letter--Richard Thompson

7. Take the A Train--Benny Golson

8. No Business--Bonnie Raitt

9. America the Beautiful--LMO

10. Angel from Montgomery--Bonnie Raitt

So that was my summer. And a good summer it was, mainly because of Charlie Haden, Carla Bley and their Liberation Music Orchestra. God bless!