As perhaps those of you who haven't figured me out might imagine, I'm often more confused than most of the human race. I find it does make things much easier in some respects. I mean if you are considered "normal" well, there isn't much of an upside. Go too far up and you're going to be called eccentric which, of course, is little more than just a nice way to say crazy. Go the other way and you will surely be subjected to ridicule as an idiot. However, I think I'm safe in the case of the latter since my wife has already made it clear that I'd have to get a lot smarter to be considered an idiot.
So what does any of this have to do with music? Tell me, doesn't everything have something to do with everything else? While you ponder that thought I wish to bring forth over the next series of articles my thoughts about being a little outside of the norm in this world which in my opinion makes me even more normal than the rest who wish to classify everyone. As I've noted previously in a column, it is incredible to consider that the same people who will rant and rave about how wrong it is to classify everyone seem to have classifications for everyone. I consider myself a human. When asked, that's what I tell people. No hyphenated euphemism. No attachment which will demand special treatment. I'm simply a human.
So from that perspective, that of a human, I decided I would spend the next few columns talking about or at least writing about music a little outside of the mainstream. I know, those of you who have followed my columns know that is about all I ever write about. Truthfully, the best music is hardly that which you hear on the radio unless you listen to Sirrius Deep Tracks where they rarely play any "hit" songs. It is what AOR is supposed to be yet I can't think of a single AOR (Album Oriented Rock) station that actually plays album cuts rather than force feeding a steady diet of the same songs most have in their album collection or programmed on their Ipod's or whatever else is chic these days.
But this column isn't about radio. It's about music and I am going to introduce you to some of the music that shaped my oft-times odd perspective. I will start with an album that I am certain the majority of the listening world missed because it received very little fanfare and the artist died prematurely within months of its release.
Tommy Bolin was hardly a novice in music in 1976 when he released his last solo album, Private Eyes. Having started in music with a fusion band named Zephyr, he continued his career by replacing the likes of Joe Walsh in the James Gang and Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. Finally in the mid-1970's, he went out on his own and released two albums. The first, Teaser, was little noticed from a minor subsidiary label. The music was basically progressive rock with a lot of jazz influences. It was followed by what I consider one of the best albumsi of the 1970's in terms of not only music but production as well, the afore mentioned Private Eyes. From top to bottom the album is laced with creative music that I think slipped beneath the radar because it wasn't hard enough for rock stations, soft enough for pop stations or jazzy enough for jazz stations. In other words, it defied description. In a world where classifications are king, Tommy Bolin wasn't able to be classified.
I won't waste countless paragraphs trying to describe the album further. I simply call it a must hear to be appreciated. Songs like "Shake the Devil", "Bustin' Out For Rosie" and the album's highest peak, "Post-Toastee", there is not a weak track that one can say was simply put in to fill up the vinyl. The latter of these, "Post-Toastee" is perhaps the most under-appreciated song in the history of rock and roll. It is a song built in three acts. It opens with a riff that I'm sure JJ Cale stole when he wrote "Cocaine" which leads the song through the opening 2-3 minutes. From there it breaks time into a very slow, balladic piece of jazz featuring an alto sax for the next 3 minutes. Finally, it builds back up to the original riff with a very heavy bass riff that opens the door for all the elements to unite and close out with some of Bolin's best guitar work. Yes, it's 9 minutes... Plenty long to allow DJ's a bathroom break. However, most preferred "Freebird" for such things and so "Post-Toastee" became little more than fodder for an article by a 50-something columnist in the 21st century.
If you really want to give yourself a treat, explore the rock genre. That's really what these columns are about. There are some incredible groups that slipped between the cracks especially in the 1970's when rock was still king. Open the door and maybe you'll fall in love with music all over again.
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