DVD Review: Welcome to Rockwell: A Night of Legendary Collaborations

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2013
Images from the Internet

 

Welcome to Rockwell: A Night of Legendary Collaboration
Directed by Phlippe Baudet
Masterpieces
ABC Entertainment GmbH
66 minutes, 2012
www.MVDvisual.com

Apparently big arena shows for charities did not end in the 1980s or early ‘90s. Well, I’m so okay with that. For this recent show, held at the huge O2 stadium in London, some of the top British bands get together for Nordoff-Robbins, which is geared towards music therapy for disabled children. As with most of these events, it went on for hours and this DVD goes on for just over one hour, so a lot was obviously cut out, and the crème de le crème (i.e., the headliners) made the grade.

Opening up the show here is Razorlight. Now, I stopped listening to mainstream radio before I even heard the Ramones for the first time in ’75, so I fully admit that I had never heard them play before. Also, they apparently were much more successful in England than in the States. They are okay, especially their last song, “In the City” (not to be confused with the Jam song). Vocalist Johnny Borrell has a decent voice, though he comes off a bit privileged and arrogant to me, like, “My music is important,” rather than just getting out there and knocking it outta the park (or stadium). However, they still fare pretty well here, and they did come out for a charity event (publicity or true feelings is the question). FYI, Razorlight disbanded this year.

Though I would have thought he’d be the last man standing on the stage as the headliner, Robert Plant comes by and shows Borrell how to do it, by being relaxed and in the moment, rather than showing off. With a mixture of standard instruments mixed with Sub-Saharan ones, the band pulls out the Led Zeppelin songbook with three of their classic songs, “Black Dog” (sans echo), “Whole Lotta Love,” and the cover of the blues classic “Fixin’ to Die.” These are done less metal and shrill than Zep did, and slower, but it still is definitely in Plant-land. I was actually disappointed because since the end of Zep, he’s been focusing more on the Blues, and I was hoping he would do that rather than rehash his discography. Perhaps he was trying to bring in the charity cash, and if that is so, I will somewhat forgive him. I always found Zep kinda…tiresome.

Joss Stone always reminds me of Taylor Swift physically, but Stone definitely wins in both the looks and talent department. Yet, I still do not like to listen to her because of the rehashed (there’s that word again) neo-disco sound she insists upon burying her talent. What a waste. If she was doing rock, or preferably blues a la Joplin or Billie Holiday, I would be a lot more interested. But do we need another Donna Summers or someone of that ilk? Vocally, she’s the real deal, and could easily give the clinical Celine Dion a run for her power (vocal) chord money. Stone is just another singer who has a great voice that I can’t listen to because of either what she sings or the way she performs it (e.g., Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey).

Next up is Tom Jones, giving a rare appearance away from his Las Vegas hunting grounds. Speaking of rehashing, it makes sense that he performs “It’s Not Unusual,” and even makes it look like he isn’t sick of singing it however many times a day he has to in Vegas. His voice is a bit creaky at time, and can’t reach the high notes (from overuse of his voice?), but he’s still fun. I have to admit there’s something about Jones I like as a person, being totally willing to put himself on the line by making fun of himself and his “persona” in various films and television shows. He is a consummate celebrity who is comfortable with himself. That being said, with his extensive catalog of great songs, why in hell would he choose the awful disco – here it comes – rehashing of “Sex Bomb,” easily one of the worst songs he has ever done? What a squander of an opportunity. At least Stone did something new, even if the style is a throwback. Jones’ and Stone’s duet of the Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing” seems unrehearsed and slapped together.

Cult icon David Grey (who always reminded me of a British Elliott Smith) starts off his classic “Babylon” backed with the female electric string quartet of Escala, before sliding into “Fugitive.” He is a man that works on the strength of his songs, more than anything else, rather than having much of a stage presence (not a complaint), but without a doubt his writing hold it up.

Most of the musicians come back for the finale, which starts off on a bizarre note with Tom Jones bringing out a lyric sheet. He explains they hadn’t picked which song the organizers were going to use, so he needs the sheet: for “Let It Be.” Really? There are definitely more musician on the stage then there are on this DVD, and some missing (e.g., Plant), as they meander through the song with no harmony or being in sync. Jones uses his lack of knowing the song by doing a call and response, but reads directly from the sheet when it’s his turn at the solo. Rather than try to pretend and fake it, the fact that stands by his ignorance is something I respect.

Beverly Knight, who is not anywhere else on the DVD, steals the finale with her powerful R&B. But where was Lulu? She performed at the show, and she is someone I would have enjoyed seeing, as she is another belter who was underrated in North America (have you ever heard her version of “Shout” when she was a mere teen?; absolutely stunning). I definitely would have taken her segment over Jones or Grey, but she isn’t where the dollars are these days, is she?

Track List:
Razorlight: I Fall to Pieces
Razorlight: Golden
Razorlight: In the City
Robert Plant: Black Dog
Robert Plant: Fixin’ to Die
Robert Plant: Whole Lotta Love
Joss Stone: Free Me
Joss Stone: Super Duper
Tom Jones: It’s Not Unusual
Tom Jones: Sex Bomb
Tom Jones and Joss Stone: It’s Your Thing
David Grey and Escala: Babylon
David Grey: Fugitive
All: Let It Be



Bonus video:

Sick Songs of the 'Sixties

Text (c) Robert Barry Francos
Images from the Internet

This column was inspired while listening to the true local oldies station, at 1410 AM out of New Jersey (WCBS 101.1 FM has deserted us and is promoting a lie, but that’s for later). I play it while I shower, and attempt to sing along to it.

During the early 1960s, culture was undergoing a revolution. But as the axiom goes, the more things change… Music is usually a strong agent of change, but it can also be reflexive. There are certain hit songs from the ‘60s that are cherished as “golden oldies” but need to be lyrically scrutinized under present sensibilities.

Now, I fully understand that many of the songs that came later are more blatant, and could never have been made back then, such as the Ramones’ “Gonna Kill That Girl” and Anti-Nowhere League’s “So Wot” through whatever is on the dance charts at the moment, including crap like “I Kissed a Girl” or “Circus.”

Below are some songs that, if we looked at with any scrutiny, are of questionable content.

Jimmy Soul – If You Want to be Happy
This is one of the early ska radio hits, along with Millie Small’s “My Boy Lollipop.” Lyrically, while this was done tongue in cheek, it was also pretty misogynistic. The chorus claims, “If you want to be happy for the rest of your life / Never make a pretty woman your wife / If you want my personal point of view / Get an ugly girl to marry you.” The reasoning? Well, they posit, she won’t cheat because no one else would want her. [Sidebar: this is reminiscent of a joke from Abbott & Costello, where Costello claims that he wants to marry an ugly girl because a pretty one may leave him. Abbott states that an ugly one can leave, too, to which Costello explains, “Yeah, but who cares?”] Also, as one person says in the song, “Man, you wife is uuuuugly,” to which the singer responds, “Yeah, but she sure can cook.” Yikes. And yet, the melody of this song is very catchy, and even the semi-harmonious voices get one to sing along. Just don’t sing it in front of you-know-who.

Tom Jones – She’s a Lady
Amazingly, this song has been revitalized in a television commercial. This is basically the exact opposite as the previous song, as Tommy describes in a list what makes the perfect woman, including that, “She’s got style, she’s got grace / And she always knows her place.” To love and obey? Maybe the writer was trying to get a “The Lady is a Tramp” vibe going? Yep, Tommy loves the women. Except Delilah, of course, who he brutally stabs to death after being caught cheating. Guess she wasn’t a “lady.”

Leslie Gore – Judy’s Turn to Cry
In this sequel to the popular, “It’s My Party,” Leslie reunites with her lying-ass boyfriend, Johnny, after he socks another guy who Leslie tricks into dancing with her, the poor sap. So let me break this down into themes. First, even though Johnny has been cheating with Judy at Leslie’s own party, without telling her what is happening, Leslie still wants him back. Why? So, to make him jealous, she gets some other poor schmuck to dance with her, leading him on like she’s interested. Leslie, it turns out, is not so nice after all, so maybe they do deserve each other. And when Johnny, who wants his Judy-cake and eat Leslie too, sees her dancing with the mark, he socks him in the eye, and then Johnny and Leslie are reunited. This is a couple headed for premature babies, marriage, trailer park, and divorce. Maybe Judy is crying in relief to be out of the situation?

The Crystals – He Hit Me and it Felt Like a Kiss
This is an infamous b-side that was only a minor hit on the radio, for obvious reasons. The theme to this is similar to “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” if Johnny had hit Leslie instead of the mook. In this song, because her boyfriend whacked her a good one, it meant he still had feelings for her. Can anyone say “ownership?” A couple with control and boundary issues, at least. Anyone who hits Darlene Love is crazy, anyway. Sighhhhh.

Lou Christie – Lightening Strikes
I loved this song growing up, and then one day, I actually listened to the lyrics. Jeez Louise. Lou is a real scumbag in this, as upbeat and cheery as it sounds, musically. “Am I asking too much for you to stick around,” he asks the song’s subject. He’s a horny dude with commitment issues, and expects his girlfriend to stay pure and virginal while he dicks around with anyone he wants, and when he’s good and ready, yeah, he’ll marry her. Lucky her! And not only that, he sees someone else while talking to her, and dumps her right then and there: “When I see lips waitin’ to be kissed / I can’t stop / I can’t stop / Because lightning’s striking again.” Yes, that’s present tense, so that means he leaves her standing there. She, too, should just walk away, Renee. Y’really think this nutsack is ever going to stay loyal?

The Kingston Trio – Ah Woe, Ah Me
There were a whole series of folk songs that were based on Calypso (i.e., ripped off), sung by white groups trying to cash in on Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O.” Well, white artists ripping off artists of color was certainly nothing new in the music biz (e.g., Pat Boone, Vanilla Ice). The calypso genre was huge in the folk scene, and in fact was made sport of on the A Might Wind soundtrack (The Folksmen’s “Loco Man”). In “Ah Woe, Ah Me,” the problem is poking fun at the lack of morale of Islanders, as a young man is trying to find a wife. It seems every sweetie he brings home, his father brags “The girl is your sister / But your mama don’t know.” And when the son finally rats the father out in desperation, his mother tells him, “Go, man, go / Your papa ain’t your papa / But your papa don’t know.” The singer says the characters’ lines in a bad Jamaican style accent, in a bit of internalized racism that would not become obvious to even the liberals in the folk crowd until years later.

Feel free to add any in the comments you can think of from this time period.