Grapefruit Moon in the Lahontan Valley

Posted on December 19, 2008 by JUKES.NET

logo_lahontan_valley There are obvious signs of civilization out in the desert! Here’s something right from the beautiful Lahontan Valley in Nevada. Kirk Robertson did a review of GRAPEFRUIT MOON for the “Lahontan Valley News”:

While recently many folks have covered Waits’ music — ranging from the successful such as Holly Cole, to the ludicrous such as Scarlet Johansson — this is one of best salutes, enhanced not by the Jukes, but rather by Richard LaBamba Rosenberg’s big band settings, which are a real plus. (…)

He (Southside Johnny) has a years-on-the-road bar band voice — which while not quite a true junkyard razor-wire Waits-ian growl, does lend authenticity to the interpretations; and when Waits joins him for a duet on “Walk Away,” it sounds like the two of them have been trading lyrics in the back of some old-time, back-of-beyond, railroad bar for a long, long time.

Read the full review at: THE LAHONTAN VALLEY NEWS

There’s some fabulous bar joints up and down the dirt roads in Nevada – I’d always like to see the Jukes in such a setting. But imagining a Big-Band show at Cesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV that’s my favourite of the moment… anyone like to join me?

A Deeper Shade of Soul's Top 40

Posted on December 18, 2008 by JUKES.NET

The “Best Songs of the Year” list-mania continues:

BEN LAZAR in his blog A DEEPER SHADE OF SOUL (you’ve gotta love that title!) knows how to get it down to his personal Top 40 of the year 2008! And he also has been thinking and writing about that exercise as such.

Compiling this list the top 40 songs of the year was an energizing experience – there was a lot of great music released this year. I’m not sure it was a great year for albums, but who listens to those anymore, anyway? Technology has, for all practical purposes, turned everyone into their own DJ and jukebox, and it’s all about find the great songs amidst the torrents of music waiting to get into our hard drives, iPods and broadband connections. Attaching “good” or “bad” to such developments is pointless. It just is, and is getting more so.

I’m born in the middle of the sixties, so I will forever be an “album” connoisseur. I do not even own any MP3 device (but my girlfriend does). So what I do the most to enjoy music is to put a CD in my car-sereo, turn up the volume and let the music do to me whatever it does… The internet as such is something which I really dig a lot, web radios let me escape from the commercial airwaves, and web-sites, well, you probably see that this is fascinating stuff to me. But if it would come to my personal Top 40… it would have to be about albums, not “tracks”…

I’ll save you Ben’s full Top 40, but I really recommend you go over to A DEEPER SHADE OF SOUL to get to see it. Southside Johnny and La Bamba ended up on the honorable 4th place and Ben’s comments show that this has been a well thoroughly thought selection.

Southside Johnny and La Bamba’s Big Band (w/Tom Waits) – “Walk Away”

The most playful track I heard all year. Two cult artists – one a tiny one, the other a big one, remind the few who are listening how much they have in common, and that life is a hell of a lot easier with a sense of humor.

A great list Ben… a lot of songs which I never heared about – thanks to German Radio – and where I will probably have to dig deeper into – the albums… so, thanks for the inspiration!

The AMG Favourite Americana Albums

Posted on December 17, 2008 by JUKES.NET

logo_amg_blog Another list (this must be that time of the year, where people are sitting at their desks and think about nothing else than lists for the better part of their days…) made a strange selection when it comes to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes… they picked the -Australian- compilation of songs where the most actual track has been released not later than 1991 – “FEVER! The Anthology” for their list of the best “Americana” albums of 2008.

Now guys, have you been sitting on your ears the last 17 years? Your category “Americana” for sure collects some great music, and it’s for sure also always a good thing to list Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. But it’s for sure not a good promotion, neither for you OR the Jukes, if you do that with another anthology of their classic stuff, ignoring Southside’s fabulous GRAPEFRUIT MOON!

Well, if you would at least have listed that in the JAZZ category, you’d be forgiven…

LINK: THE ALL MUSIC BLOG: FAVOURITE AMERICANA ALBUMS OF 2008

The 40 Best Albums of 2008

Posted on December 17, 2008 by JUKES.NET

This is short and sweet: The “500 WORDS” blog nominated the best 40 albums of 2008. And Southside Johnny & La Bamba’s GRAPEFRUIT MOON finished 3rd on the list. You have to see the full album ranking to realize in what exceptional good company GRAPEFRUIT MOON has been competing.

3. Southside Johnny. Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits: It’s all about the horns. Southside Johnny Lyons’ interpretations of classic Tom Waits tracks benefits from LaBamba and the Hubcaps rich horn section. The disc crackles with an energy nearly unmatched by any band recording this year.

This is another very, very nice compliment to the great tribute to Tom Waits and the Big-Band sound of 2008.

And, just by the way: Guns N’ Roses, “Chinese Democracy” finished 40th! I’m sure there’d be some people to argue that! ;-)

LINK: 500 WORDS: THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2008

Jim Abbott about Grapefruit Moon

Posted on December 2, 2008 by JUKES.NET

logo_soundboard They are still coming in: Another blog reviewed GRAPEFRUIT MOON – and gave another just very brief statement about the actress who did that other Tom Waits cover album:

That Scarlett Johansson album of Tom Waits’ songs was a mess, but there’s another Waits tribute project on the way…

Jim Abbott at the Sunshine State newspaper’s blog: THE ORLANDO SENTINEL – SOUNDBOARD delivered his take on the album already in May, according to the timestamp on the blog! How the heck did he get his hand on the pre-release copy??? Anyway, he deserved all the treatment, since he offers another priceless quote from Johnny:

“I have been an envious admirer of Tom’s songwriting ability from his earliest albums – and have decided to beautify myself with his feathers,” says Southside. “He graciously allowed me that opportunity, and even deigned to sing what may laughingly be called harmony on one song. Our two voices together may be illegal in some states, but the deed is done, and let the chips fall where they may.”

That fact about illegal duets is something, we really now have to keep in mind when we are going to re-evaluate John’s work over all the years! And does the NJ state attorney care about that at all? Or would California state law have to be applied here, since “Walk Away” has been recorded in the Schwarzenegger state? Anyway, while somebody should have stopped before-mentioned sweet Hollywood actress, nobody could stop the fearless chansonier – not even the law! If they want, let them send the troopers to Ocean Grove…! We will hide John in Europe…! How ’bout Belgium…?

Jim continues:

Grapefruit Moon marries the brassy, ballsy sound of big band to Tom Waits’ cinematic, character-driven songs, creating a vibe that evokes the street-smart, houserockin’ swagger that made Southside Johnny and his band the Asbury Jukes legendary (…).

Waits not only gave Southside his blessing for the album – he lends his vocals to “Walk Away”, a song in which he and Southside do what they do best: lay bare the souls of ordinary people with all their problems and dreams, but with an insouciance that brings a rueful laugh. The styles of music explored on the album range from blues to New Orleans strut to swing and even a romantic brass choir on “Johnsburg, Illionois.”

It doesn’t matter how marriage laws in California or Jersey did change recently, or will change again, or should be changed in the future… This marriage – obviously – has been made in Big-Band heaven…

Although I wanted to ignore blogs referring to Scarlett… sincere thanks for that review Jim!

Read Jim’s full take on GRAPEFRUIT MOON at THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

Blurt - Grapefruit Moon

Posted on November 25, 2008 by JUKES.NET

Blurt REV. KEITH A. GORDON reviewed “GRAPEFRUIT MOON” for BLURT-ONLINE. Again, a review starts with referring to Scarlet Johanson:

As a songwriter, Tom Waits seems to be undergoing a sort of popular revival these days. During the spring of 2008, actress Scarlet Johansson released her collection of Waits songs; produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek, Anywhere I Lay My Head was a collection of textured fantasy-pop more akin to polished early-‘80s studio concoctions like the Cocteau Twins than to Waits’ gritty, world-weary portraits in sound. (…)

Now it’s Southside Johnny Lyons’ turn, and with Grapefruit Moon, the Asbury Park veteran takes a completely different tact on the Waits songbook. Backed by LaBamba’s Big Band, fronted by his New Jersey pal Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg, Lyons has reinvented these Waits songs as grand jazzbo antiques with big band arrangements and lots of horns up front in the mix. Channeling both Duke Ellington and Woody Herman, Lyons’ gruff, slightly-worn voice sounds good on both the slow-crooned ballads and the album’s rambunctious up-tempo flare-ups, while the band’s overall excellent performance is integral to the success of the material. LaBamba runs a damn tight ship, and these boys are playing their hearts out…sounding uncannily like a white-suited-and-gloved throwback to a kinder, gentler era.

Continue reading →

A Deep Shade of Soul on a Bar Mizvah From Hell

Posted on November 18, 2008 by

logo_rochester_city AANSCHAFFEN METEEN DUS – PRACHTIG EERBETOON… that’s what Frank van Engelen says at The Bluesmagazine in the Netherlands. Now since my Dutch is as good as my Kishuaeli, Google claims it stands for “BUY THIS NOW!”.

The Rochester City Newspaper carries a short but sweet review attesting Southside Johnny being competent in what he’s been doing… As if we didn’t knew that already. But it never hurts to realize:

Tom Waits tunes goosed with some full-blown brass ? Who knows, Waits might’ve even toyed with this idea himself, but Southside Johnny beat him to the punch. Waits is a genre unto himself, and to adequately convey the character-centric stories within his mix of jazz, blues, Tin Pan Alley, and arbitrary mayhem, you’d think one would have to cop to his persona. This is essentially impossible. Either you’re qualified, or you ain’t. Well, Southside Johnny is. With La Bamba’s Big Band bringing the big brass with more menace than Mancini, Southside’s raggedly soulful voice gives slightly cleaner takes of these tunes. The band even manages to recreate Waits’ Dixieland cacophony on “Tango ‘Til they’re Sore,” like a funeral march falling down an open manhole.

Continue reading →

It's Broadway Baby!

Posted on October 30, 2008 by JUKES.NET

Phil Rainone gives his account of the world-exclusive-one-night-only-on-broadway-full-big-band-extravaganza on October 24th by Southside Johnny and La Bamba at the NOKIA Theater in NYC on JERSEYBEAT:

Throughout the show, which lasted about an hour and a half, it was hard to separate The Sounds of Asbury Park from what could only be called the new Great American Songbook.

Jim had mentioned that he had interviewed Tony Bennett in the past, asking him who he thought the great new standards writers were. Bennett mentioned people like Marvin Hamlish, but no current writers. After the show I got to thinking about Jim’s interview and it hit me. Combining the high quality of Waits’ music with John’s vocal prowess, Richie’s amazing scoring, and a truly all-star band, this could very well be the next Great American Contemporary Songbook.

This is indeed a thought which did not strike me before. But Phil does hit quite a note here. This is a classic album already!

Continue reading →

Wiggling Air Molecules

Posted on September 2, 2008 by

Mark Saleski did a wonderful piece of work in his review of GRAPEFRUIT MOON at BLOGCRITICS MAGAZINE.

I wrote earlier about Scarlett Johanson at another place, about another thing, I LOVED her in LOST IN TRANSLATION, but I never thought that I’d come back on her in connection with a Tom Waits / Southside Johnny collaboration. Well, then she did this album last year, and here goes Mark…:

There are times when a person experiences moments of such extreme happiness that it’s difficult to contain the emotion. I suspect that even the most curmudgeonly people have them. I should know, because I have my moments of curmudgeon on a daily basis. Anyway…for me, this “super-happy” can feel like the top of my head popped off, letting a stream of brightly-colored prayer flags out, the message of bliss radiating out to the rest of the world.

Continue reading →