There are two really cool things about Austin, Texas, that maybe you don’t know: 1. This weekend, an Austin resident will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That would be Ian McLagan, keyboardist for the legendary Small Faces and the Faces.
McLagan, who has made Austin his home for about 10 years, will be in Cleveland to accept the induction along with surviving Small Faces mate Kenney Jones and Faces mates Ron Wood and Rod Stewart. They’ll all pay tribute to fallen band members Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott.
And the other cool thing? 2. Austin’s Bergstrom International Airport has a permanent stage, where live bands play regularly to welcome travelers to the “Live Music Capital of the World.” On this stage yesterday, the city of Austin threw a little bon voyage party for McLagan as he jetted off to Cleveland for the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Congratulations, Mac!
Thanks to chickrock for letting us borrow this video.
Editor’s Note: Our L.A. correspondent Randy Fuller is back, with a column especially for the upcoming induction ceremony of new members into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Check out Randy’s cool wine blog Now and Zin.
The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame will induct new members on April 14 in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s the 27th annual induction ceremony, the 27th time rock fans get to yell “It’s about time!” or “Where’s KISS?” With all that shouting, we’re going to need something to soothe our nerves.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 2012 inductees and pair a wine with each.
Performer category
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys have the munchies.
If you’re singing along with “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” it’s a good bet you’re doing jello shots or drinking beer from a glass with quarters at the bottom. The Beastie Boys’ blend of funky rock, rap and hip hop need not be reserved for the lesser beverages. In fact, Beastie Mike D has dabbled a bit at wine criticism. Not surprisingly, he likes wine with a bit of funk. Root around a bit in the Côtes du Rhône aisle and pop for a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. You should be able to find a wine that brings enough funk to get a party started without fisticuffs.
Donovan’s music is poetry, a delicate flower at one turn, a handful of psychedelics at the next. His lyrics abound with references to wine, including a lovefest for the “maroon-coloured wine from the vineyards of Charlemagne.” Sounds like a Burgundy is about to be opened. Bonneau du Martray should do nicely, from the Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. You may want to select a white wine, as Charlemagne’s wife is said to have preferred her royal hubby not mess his beard with the red stuff. You are probably a much neater drinker than Charlemagne, though.
In the mid-1980s, when Guns N’ Roses exploded from L.A. with a balls-out Sunset Strip strut and an Appetite For Destruction, they redecorated a rock and roll landscape that had become rather tired and listless. G N’ R offered up a brashness which made other acts seem like they were mailing it in. You may be tempted to go with a beer for them – a cheap one, in a bottle you can hurl at something – but California has a wine worthy of the Guns N’ Roses brand of excess in old vine Zinfandel. Both winemaker Joel Peterson and his Ravenswood Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel are brash enough for rock and roll.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland announced yesterday its 2012 class of inductees, and it includes the rockin’ British quintet the Faces. Finally!
The Faces rocked the late 1960s and early 1970s like no one else, including the Rolling Stones. First known as the Small Faces, the core group of keyboardist Ian McLagan, bassist Ronnie Lane and drummer Kenney Jones found themselves at a crossroads when lead singer Steve Marriott left the group.
Salvation came in the form of two new members: guitarist Ron Wood and singer Rod Stewart. So in 1970 the Small Faces became simply the Faces, and they came on like a bunch of rowdy boozers who just happened to be great musicians. With Lane (and sometimes McLagan) the group already had strong songwriting, but Stewart and Wood contributed some great numbers too, like the classic “Stay With Me.”
The induction includes both versions of the band. Both Stewart and Wood will become second-time members of the Rock Hall (Stewart was inducted as a solo artist in 1994 and Wood as part of the Rolling Stones in 1989) for the Small Faces/The Faces.
“Well it’s quite a thrill and honor to make it in the Hall of Fame a second time,” Stewart said in a statement. “We (The Faces) were always synonymous with a good party and with this list of fellow artists being inducted I’m looking forward to (it) … and it’s a hell of a good reason to reunite and celebrate with my old mates.”
Other inductees announced Wednesday include Guns n’ Roses, the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro and trippy-dippy singer/songwriter Donovan.
Other inductees include Freddie King for early influence; rock promoter Don Kirshner, who died earlier this year, receives the Ahmet Ertegun award; and Tom Dowd, Glyn Johns and Cosimo Matassa will be honored for musical excellence.
The Rock and Roll Hall of fame induction ceremony will be held in Cleveland on April 14.
If you are in or around the Austin area, you can still get a healthy dose of prime Faces by catching a performance of Ian McLagan’s Bump Band. “Mac” still plays free happy hours (at the Lucky Lounge, next door to Antone’s) and will happily take requests for Faces songs, although don’t ask him to perform any by “Big Nose” (guess who). It is, truly,the World’s Greatest Happy Hour. He says he’s gonna be there this Thursday, too! McLagan keeps alive the spirit and songs of Ronnie Lane, who died in 1997. Congratulations on your long-deserved honor, Mac!
The Best of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame + Museum Live is a 3-CD set featuring rare, one-of-a-kind performances from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, recorded since its start in 1986. The biggest names in rock and roll performed in intimate settings, jamming in combinations not seen anywhere else.
One of the album’s highlights teams Bruce Springsteen with U2 as he inducted the Irish band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. That performance joins nearly 200 others in a special 10-volume digital-only collection arriving at iTunes on Nov. 15 and the 51-song 3-CD set available Nov. 1.
I’ll admit I was never into Jeff Beck until I saw him perform at last year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden. His stirring rendition of “A Day In the Life” was mesmerizing and I became an instant fan. His latest release, Emotion and Commotion, is, so far, my pick for album of the year.
Dusty Springfield, Del Shannon, Brenda Lee, Ritchie Valens, The Ronettes, the Dave Clark Five, The Dells and The Shirelles. These are just a few of the artists in the Rock and Roll of Fame while the great Neil Diamond stands outside the gates waiting to get in. Are you kidding me? How is it that I even have to write this blogpost?
Diamond is one of the most successful singer-songwriters in music history. He’s only sold nearly 160 million albums worldwide, and has penned some of the world’s most popular songs.
Spirit was one of the most entertaining American bands to come off the West Coast in the late 1960s. Sorry, Dead and Airplane fans – Spirit, based out of Los Angeles, had the best players. Led by singer Jay Ferguson and guitarist Randy California (who was apparently a protege of Hendrix), Spirit played progressive and psychedelic music but always anchored its albums with some crankin’ rock tunes. They should certainly be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ferguson was the better songwriter in the group, but California penned Spirit’s biggest hit, “I Got A Line On You,” from 1968. The group peaked with the psychedelic album 12 Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus (1970) with standout Ferguson tunes like “Animal Zoo” and California’s moody “Nature’s Way.” Spirit’s drummer was bald-headed Ed Cassidy, California’s uncle, and the bassist was teenaged Mark Andes.
The artist who released A Funky Situation in 1979 was not a happy camper. Through most of the 1960s, Wilson Pickett was THE MAN, cutting hits like “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “In the Midnight Hour,” “Mustang Sally” and many others. But by this point in the late 1970s his career had taken a steep downturn.
When A Funky Situation came out “Wicked” Pickett had this to say: “We no longer make records like we feel. We have to make records according to what they will play on the radio. Anytime you’ve got artists singing songs, doing grooves that they don’t want to do, it’s terrible.” The way you did “grooves” back then was disco. Pickett’s new label wanted him to make a disco album.
So nice to see that Madonna is now a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum – now that’s out of the way, let’s get down to some serious business. Like placing the great Faces in the Hall of Fame.
The Faces rocked the late 1960s and early 1970s like no one else, including the Rolling Stones. First known as the Small Faces, the core group of keyboardist Ian McLagan, bassist Ronnie Lane and drummer Kenney Jones found themselves at a crossroads when lead singer Steve Marriott left the group.
Salvation came in the form of two new members: guitarist Ron Wood and singer Rod Stewart. So in 1970 the Small Faces became simply the Faces, and they came on like a bunch of rowdy boozers who just happened to be great musicians. With Lane (and sometimes McLagan) the group already had strong songwriting, but Stewart and Wood contributed some great numbers too, like the classic “Stay With Me.”
Mick Hucknall’s soulful vocals on hits like “Holding Back the Years,” “Money’s Too Tight to Mention,” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” brought worldwide success to the band Simply Red. On his latest solo disc, A Tribute to Bobby, Hucknall takes on the hits of Bobby “Blue” Bland and does himself proud.
Bobby “Blue” Bland had his first number one R&B hit in 1957 with “Farther up the Road,” the catchy and soulful tune that kicks off this disc. By the early 1960s, Bland had rattled off eleven top ten R&B hits on his way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I can honestly say I have never listened to Bobby “Blue” Bland, or at least not intentionally, and that’s a shame because this guy is a great songwriter. Hucknall rips through impressive numbers like “Ain’t That Loving You,” “Yolanda,” the smooth “Cry, Cry Cry,” the heartfelt ballad “Chains of Love,” the groovin’ “I’m Too Far Gone,” and the infectiously melodic “Lead Me On.”
Hucknall brings an updated sound to these songs through his instrumentation, while staying true to the sound of the day. His soulful, smooth and powerful vocals fit these songs like a glove.
I’ve always been a little hesitant to purchase “tribute” collections because usually there are too many artists, many of whom I have never heard of, and the versions are usually not good. This collection is nothing of the kind. One artist, great versions, and a lot of soul.
30 Days Out 
