My Amazon Reviews: Sly And The Family Stone "Greatest Hits"

Boom Acka Lacka Lacka Boom!
5 Out of 5 Stars

One of the men who can lay an honest calling to "Father of Funk" is Sly Stone, and this brief but effective best of maps it out brilliantly. When I was in high school and on the Wrestling Team, there were "Sports Buses" that took team members home after practice. In reality, they were Ford Vans, but they also had 8-Track players. Our driver was this burly, bearded bear of a man named Terry, and he almost always had this album in the 8-track. I have many memories of going home on dark winter evenings as "Hot Fun In The Summertime" and "Everyday People" would play.

Almost Forty years later and I'm still digging it. Sly cross pollinated funk, rock, 60's psychedelic and a decidedly political bent and emerged with not just the first truly integrated rock band to create hit records, but anthems that partied and thought out loud. While Stone's eventual personal disintegration happened after this anthology was released (meaning it's missing "If You Want Me to Stay" and "Family Affair"), what's here is still extraordinary in its power.

After all, if you can't smile to the hits here, you're probably too old or old enough to have gone deaf. "Stand!," "Thank You (Fallettinme Be Micelf Agaon)" and "Dance To The Music" are still guaranteed crowd pleasers, and the non/lesser-hits like "You Can Make It" and "Sing A Simple Song" will pack the party. Which is the cool thing about this Greatest Hits. Stone may have had a little gas left in the tank, but this album was released at a peak moment in his creative timeline. You can pop it in and it rings joyously from beginning to end, holding together like a whole album and not just a collection of singles. To this day, it remains a classic time capsule for creativity in American Music.

  

My Amazon Reviews: Jack Johnson "To The Sea"

Ashes on The Water
4 Out of 5 Stars

Jack Johnson lost his father and his will to write before a sudden flood of songs emerged for the creation of "To The Sea," dedicated to his father's memory. While the songs rarely stray far from Jack's usual sunny surfer sound, there are a few moments where the grown-up lost-boy lets his emotions free in the lyrics. The result is my favorite Jack Johnson CD to date.

Both "To The Sea" and "Only The Ocean" have the emotional tug to them that has sometimes been absent from Jack's easy-going music. He was exploring relationships more on 2008's "Sleep Through The Static;" this time he's hitting the notes even better. And yet, his music, guitar playing and style are as smooth as always.

I am also enjoying his maturing lyrics outside the relationships. There's a certain Kinksian quality to "No Good With Faces" and "Pictures of People Taking Pictures," which ups the ante. "Red Wine, Mistakes and Mythology" is standard Jack Johnson, with a fun feel to it, with the clever wordplay and the sing-song feel of his best work. As always, Johnson sets a mood and runs with it through "To The Sea," and ultimately it's a satisfying one.

  

Passings: Michael Gallagher

My Uncle Mike succumbed to the Cancer that has been in him for almost 5 years late Tuesday. Father, Brother, Grandfather, Uncle, great friend. That's his oldest grandkid. He leaves behind three daughters and three garndchildren, the newest of which was born in June. His wife Carole passed in 2000. To me, Uncle Mike was an inspiration. I ran for Class President in High School after he won a City Council seat in the mid-seventies.

I have a movie shoot in Austin this weekend. It's gonna be tough. This is the second family member to have died this year, following my Uncle Rick in April and Uncle Mike is the first of the Gallagher brothers and sisters (my Mom's side of the family) to leave us.