Got a ticket to Sir Paul's second Montreal show the other day, and am really surprised how much I'm already looking forward to it. For one thing, and I'm ashamed to say this, it'll be the first time that I've ever seen a Beatle in concert. I know. I can't believe it myself. How could this have happened? I guess living in either Montreal or Edmonton my entire life didn't help, but on the other hand, there are planes, boats, cars, trains in existence - so that argument isn't very good. In any event, I'm going to really enjoy not only the concert itself but also the build-up to it. What do I mean by that, you wonder? For one thing, I'm going to prepare for it by re-listening to all the McCartney I can - be it Beatles, solo, Wings, or Fireman - and I hope to write a few posts about it along the way as well.

Speaking of McCartney solo work, I'm going to mention an album that I think is just amazing, even though I've written about it in the past, the tragically under-appreciated Chaos and Creation in the Backyard from 2005. Produced by Nigel Godrich (of Radiohead fame), who may be the best producer he's had since George Martin, it's one of my favourite McCartney recordings (and I include the second side of Abbey Road in that assessment). Here's the wonderful "Jenny Wren": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9GvXFphCFc. The description under the video (i.e. the "Show More" thing) is worth checking out, too.

Gotta love the Google thing today - a very cool tribute to the great Les Paul. It'd be hard to think of a more influential twentieth century musician, if you think about it. I mean, overdubbing and the electric guitar, what more could someone be asked to contribute? Anyone who uses either (or in most cases, both), which means virtually everyone in popular music, owes him a tip of the cap - and a serious re-listening to his recordings. The place to start, for me, is obvious: his work with the astonishing vocalist, Mary Ford (talk about a singer who is in tune!). Without these two pioneers, would we have had The Beach Boys or Queen? Or Led Zeppelin? Props needed. Here's a cool clip of the duo doing one of their most famous numbers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ffdwBUL78.

Another very cool thing about the Keith Richards' book, Life (2010), is the credit that he gives to other musicians for inspiring/helping him and the Stones. The sections that treat the early years of the band and their blues purist attitude are great, as are the tributes that he gives to Chuck Berry and Gram Parsons. The former name has been associated with the Stones since their inception. Not only did they record a whole whack of his songs, but Keith, by his own admission, stole (or is it borrowed?) virtually every lick that he played. Here's "Bye Bye Johnny", the first song on their first EP (from January, 1964): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdBKH4-6q1w. But Parsons' influence on the band wasn't as well known (before this book, to me, anyway), but now I hear it loud and clear. I hope that his charismatic style and true love of country music will inspire other rockers to keep that door to the past (and future) open as well. Here's "Dead Flowers" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YRdxHHFKvQ) and "Juanita" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvquxLSW64M&feature=related) for your consideration and enjoyment.

Finished Keith's book (Life), and even though I got a little bogged down in the heavy drug years, found it to be a remarkable read. I guess that, for me, honesty is the most important attribute for an autobiography, and this book has plenty of it. And it's also really well written, and both surprising and insightful, particularly about music. Speaking of which, I always find that I hear an artist's music a little more clearly after reading about them, and that was certainly the case here. Specifically, the book got me to give another listen to some of my early Stones LPs and have a better appreciation of the energy they contain. I realize that I've been one to undervalue their early work sometimes, mostly when it's compared to the glory years of 68-72, but that's not really fair for a couple of reasons: One, the glory years wouldn't have happened without the formative ones. Two, the four albums released in that period put almost every other rock and roll act in the rear-view mirror, as well. And don't get me wrong, I've always liked their early stuff, and I do even more now, with images of their early days in mind. Here's their great version of "Under the Boardwalk": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6A9zqRY-ME.

Of course, there's a bit of a downside to the book, and that's the realization that in some ways the group broke up a long time ago, that many of the albums from the late seventies on were not made with the same team spirit that had made them giants in the first place. Oh well. I, for one, am very glad that they stayed together anyway, and that I (and how many others) got the chance to see them a few times and that they kept on making music. Even though we never got another Exile, we did get some other really good stuff. You've also gotta love the fact that they stayed true to their original blues heroes, who also didn't retire, or let anyone tell them what to do. Inspiring. And they certainly were the originators of many more smiles than the dingdongs who spent their careers trying to imprison them. Hope they stay around for as long as they want to. ("Brown Sugar": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59K2kF6o9Tk)