Album Review: The Kinks - One For The Road

Artist:  The Kinks

Album:  One For The Road

Released:  1980

This "Live" album  from The Kinks was recorded during 1979, mostly from shows in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  And released in the summer of 1980.  I received this album at the start of the '80/'81 school year (college) from my roommate the previous year. 

The playing is solid, the sound is good.  A double album, and included a nice double sided poster (folded).  This doesn't come off as a "contract filler".  It introduced me to several Kinks songs I wasn't very familiar with, or at least didn't have in my collection.  Such as Hardway, Misfits, Prince Of The Punks, and Celluloid Heroes.  All that said, it's never really been a favorite album for me.  Why?

Well, first flaw (IMHO) is a over-reliance on songs from the album Low Budget.  Low Budget had been released in the summer of '79, so this tour would've been in support of it.  Still, they didn't need to have it dominate this album.  Over 1/2 of low budget is here, and it represents about 1/3 of this album.   I had (and still have) Low Budget, so this level of content seemed excessive.  It's not like the Kinks don't have a solid catalog to draw from.  Nothing was included from Village Green,  and only one some from Muswell Hillbillies, and Lola.  Nothing from '77s Sleepwalker...

The other "flaw" from my standpoint is the prevalence of synthesizers.  I don't know if they were giving new member Ian Gibbons some extra spotight, or if (more likely) it was just a reflection of it being 1980... 

last "flaw":  I thought the album title was unoriginal, deriving from Synysrd's One More From The Road

Bottom line:  This is a decent album, one that gets played all along.  But not a favorite, certainly not essential.  I'd give it 3.0 out of 5.0. Allmusic was a little harsher, rating it 2.5/5.0.  They have 185 user ratings which come in at 4.0/5.0.  Their review calls the album "a fascinating document of trailblazing elder statesmen who paved the way for heavy metal and punk, but never felt a glorious pop song was out of their grasp."

One For The Road was a successful release, selling "gold" and reaching #14 on the Billboard album chart.  It is available on Spotify, and the CD is available on Amazon.  Not high on the "obscurity" meter....

Here's the back cover, inside the gatefold, and the poster (each side)
click through for larger versions...

rear cover

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inside gateway (the blur is not MY doing!)

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Poster - one side

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Poster - other sidce

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Album Review - Louisiana’s Le Roux

Artist:  Louisiana’s Le Roux

Album:  Louisiana’s Le Roux

Released:  1978

How do I know these folks:  The single “New Orleans Ladies”, which peaked at #59 (from this album).  I had this on 45 back when it was new.  I recently (8/2018) acquired the album (vinyl) from my brother.

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From the band’s web site:  “Louisiana's LeRoux (the first album) was a musical gumbo that blended various instruments and arrangements for some spicy, mouth-watering pop-rock. Using blues, R&B, funk, jazz, rock, and Cajun as their base, their Southern anthem "New Orleans Ladies" …, simmered with the laid-back feel of the "Big Easy," evoking images of Bourbon Street and the bayou.”

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So, what can I add?   I remember the song “New Orleans Ladies”, which was released in the summer of 1978, and got airplay on the AOR station I listened to at the time (WDVE).  I liked the song, and had the 45.  A quick check of the internet tells me it peaked at #59 in July 1978.  If I ever heard anything else from them, I don’t remember.  

Fast forward 40 years, last week visiting my brother.  As he occasionally does, he pulled out a stack of albums and offered them up to my son and I.  And this album was in the stack.  So I nabbed it, based on the one song.  

As I’ve been listening to it, I’m pleasantly surprised.  “New Orleans Ladies” is a wonderful piece of pop, a bit similar in tone to songs like Poco’s “Crazy Love”, Eagles’ “I Can’t Tell You Why” or MTB’s “Heard It In A Love Song”.   The rest of the album is rather different, and reminds me more of Chuck Leavall’s Sea Level.  Most of it has a solid funky jazz groove.  Only the last song (I Can't Do One More Two-Step) makes me think “New orleans”, though, with a good Dr. John groove.

The sound fronts keyboards than guitars, and has nice bass and percussion…    I’m enjoying listening to it.  I’d rate most of the songs 3+ to 4 (out of 5).  No high peaks, but no valleys, either.  Call it 3.5/5 overall.  It’ll be interesting to see how it grows on me with more listenings.

On Allmusic, they rate it a lofty 4.5/5, with 12 user ratings also averaging 4.5/5.  They comment the band creates “a fusion drawing from pop, rock, blues, R&B, funk, jazz, and of course their Crescent City roots.”  And “a welcome diversion from the pop music disco dregs [that] remained nowhere as angst-ridden as the ensuing punk movement”.  

It looks like the band is still around, with 2 of the original 6 members still involved (guitar and keyboard players).  But there’s no shows listed on the band’s website.  I’d probably go see them at a cool venue like the Wildey.

Obscurity Index:   I'll call this 'moderately obscure".  The album made Billboard's album chart, but peaked at #172, and only charted for 2 weeks.   They had a minor hit (New Orleans Ladies reached #59), which they performed on The Midnight Special back in the day.  On the other hand, the album is available on Spotify, and Amazon has it on CD, MP3-download and streaming. - - - - 

Here's the back cover, and inner sleeve, click through for larger versions...

Absolutley No Ball Playing Allowed

Seen on the wall of a resaurant in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.  I suspect it is supposed to be ironic, as there's not really anyplace nearby where one might play ball.  It's not too far from where old Forbes Field used to be (Home of the Pirates), but that was almost 50 years ago.

This would've been better if there had been 1 or 2 people at the green table...  but sometimes you take what you can get.  I did ask my son to sit there, but he politely declined.  Well, not so politely...

The 'Burgh

Pittsburgh, from Point Of View Park, on Mount Washington.  I spent (most of) my teen years as a Pittsburgh resident, and have visited often through the years.  Now I have a child at Pitt, so we may get up there more. 

Which suits me fine.

Oh, and GO STEELERS!

R.I.P Ed King

I was on vacation last week, and missed the news that Ed King died.  Ed King was best known as guitarist for the band Lynyrd Skynyrd on their first 3 studio albums.  And the first 3 post-crash Skynyrd Albums.  But he was also a member of the 60's psychedelic band Strawberry Alarm Clock.  He met the band while Strawberry Alarm Clock was touring the south, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was a support act.

Ed King joined Skynyrd during the recording of the band's first album, replacing bassist Leon Wilkeson.  Wilkeson rejoined soon after, and King shifted to guitar, creating Skynyrd's signature 3-guitar sound.

Born in California, he was the first member of the original band not from Jacksonville, Florida.

Ed king was 68, and passed August 23.

Here's a list of Ed King co-written Skynyrd songs, listed chronologically.  I've linked to my favorite from each album:

1. Poison Whiskey - pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd
2. Mr. Banker - B side of Gimme Three Steps
3. Sweet Home Alabama - Second Helping
4. Workin' For MCA - Second Helping
5. Swamp Music - Second Helping
6. Take Your Time - B side of Sweet Home Alabama
7. Saturday Night Special - Nuthin' Fancy
8. Railroad Song - Nuthin' Fancy
9. Whiskey Rock N Roller - Nuthin' Fancy
10. Smokestack Lightning - 1991 (post crash)
11. Keeping the Faith - 1991
12. Southern Women - 1991
13. Pure And Simple - 1991
14. Money Man - 1991
15. It's a Killer - 1991
16. Mama (Afraid to Say Goodbye) - 1991
17. End of the Road - 1991
18. Good Lovin's Hard to Find - The Last Rebel
19. One Thing - The Last Rebel- The Last Rebel
20. Outta Hell in My Dodge- The Last Rebel
21. Kiss Your Freedom Goodbye- The Last Rebel
22. Love Don't Always Come Easy- The Last Rebel
23. Good Luck, Bad Luck - Endangered Species
24. Hillbilly Blues - Endangered Species

Been Away For A While

So, I've been out of town for a week...  but I'm back now.  With lots and lots of photos to plow through.  So posting should pick up....  hopefully...

Anyway, here's a random shot from the front end of the trip:

A little abstraction, just a close up of a light fixture in a hotel hallway in Greenfield, Indiana.  Taken on my iPhone, processed using snapseed ap...

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Here's another, from a couple of days earlier, from a different hotel, in a different city (New Albany, OH).  Also taken on my iPhone, also processed using snapseed ap...

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And another one, from July 2018, form yet another hotel, in yet another city (Cannonsburg, PA).  Also, also,  taken on my iPhone, and processed using snapseed ap...  This one was in the room....

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And going back to September 2017, I'm pretty sure this was Frankfort, KY.  Back in the hallway.  Still iPhone, still snapseed:

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Anyway, I'm sure you get the point.

Last Rays...

I've been pretty busy lately, and haven't been making enough time for photography.  I don't have "the blahs" or anything.  Just busy.  And tired.  Anyway, life seems to be headed back towards a level of normalcy, so that's good.

Anyway, late Saturday afternoon, I decided to run out someplace to see what I could see.  I was headed west on I-270, debating myself between Choteau Island and Columbia Bottom, when I came up on Rt. 3 and made a snap decision to divert to West Alton and the Audubon Center at Riverlands.  I found a few nice photo ops, most of which are still awaiting processing.  This was a pano from my iPhone.  Tweaked and uploaded (to facebook) from the field.

This is looking across Alton Slough...  You can see the towers of the Alton Bridge on the right horizon...  This spot is just about 1 mile South East of the image posted yesterday (which was taken ~20 hours after this one!).

Dublin #1

Another in the new series of tweaking my son's photos.   I asked him a while back if he'd mind me doing some tweaking of his images, and posting them here.  He didn't seem too averse, so here we go.  My goal is to do minor changes, keeping with the original intent (at least my interpretation of the original intent).

See the 1st installment here.   

Here's #2 (tweaked version):

Taken on his trip to Dublin, Ireland as part of the pre-fall semester class he's taking as an incoming freshman.  Posted on his Instagram account 07/29/2018.




Here's the original:

 Still trying to keep it subtle, if not quite as simple as last time.  Main adjustment was rotating to straight, a very slight perspective adjustment, and minor levels adjustment.  Some burn & dodge for local lighting.  And a very slight "Simplify" to take out some harshness.  A crop to clean up from the rotate / perspective.  And crank the saturation down to offset the slight increase from the other changes.  I tried a B&W version, but didn't like it as much.

So, what do you think?

Again:  photo credit:  Matthew Lawhead.  modified / posted with permission.

Slack

So...  yesterday (Sunday), my wife was invited to a Wedding Shower for the son of a friend.  I dropped her off, with a schedule to pick her up in ~2 hrs.  What to do what to do...

Despite the mid-afternoon light, and the August heat, I decided to run out to West Alton.  I figured I'd have about an hour to wander and take some photos.  My main "target " was an area of stumps in pond, like here.  But I really liked this area of slack water.  This is the Mississippi River, but off the main channel, creating an area of slack water where debris has a tendency to collect. 

See below for the  layout:

Slack Water

West Alton, Missouri, Lincoln-Shields Recreation Area. Looking up the Mississippi River, across an area of slack water along the southwest.

The Bridge to the Future

So, my 18y/o son got a smart-phone (LG 30?) earlier this summer, and been taking a lot of photos with it.  A lot of really good photos (IMHO).  Anyway, I asked him a while back if he'd mind me doing some tweaking of his images, and posting them here.  He didn't seem too averse, so here we go.  My goal is to do minor changes, keeping with the original intent (at least my interpretation of the original intent).

I hope to make this an occasional series.

First up:  "A Bridge to the Future":

Adjusted:

This was taken during a visit to one of the big accounting firms in Pittsburgh, as part of the pre-fall semester class he's taking as an incoming freshman.


Here's the original:

I didn't do much, as you can see.  slight perspective adjustment, crop out some distracting area at top right, levels, and color balance.

So, what do you think?

Again:  photo credit:  Matthew Lawhead.  modified / posted with permission.