This a classic Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel performance and a must listen for any fan. At the time they’d just released Bridge Over Troubled Water three months prior on January 26, 1970 and you can hear the newness of the material and the passion that they have for the songs when they play them. This recording captures Simon & Garfunkel in their prime years at their peak and serves as a reminder of the pure brilliance of the duo. I hope you enjoy it and are inclined to share with other Simon & Garfunkel fans!

The live music taping community has done a wonderful job of preserving and remastering the original and I think you’ll agree that the sound quality is terrific. Here are the source notes for further info.

The Boxer
Homeward Bound
Fakin It
Feelin Groovy
Silver Haired Daddy
I Am A Rock
For Emily
Mrs Robinson
Scarborough Fair
El Condor Pasa
Leaves That Are Green
Punky’s Dilemma
America
So Long, Frank
Song For The Asking
A Poem On The Underground Wall
Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Sound of Silence
Bye Bye Love
Old Friends Bookends

Here is a delicious Stevie Ray Vaughan performance from The Spectrum in Philadelphia. This is from the Non Stop Go Tour in which Stevie was opening for Robert Plant. The recording comes from a radio broadcast sans the commercials. It contains my favorite performance of Mary Had a Little Lamb. I love the later era versions of Stevie’s early songs because they’ve been reimagined to include Reese Wynan’s keyboard wizardry.

Dust My Blues / Love Struck Baby
Look At Little Sister
You’ll Be Mine
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Texas Flood
Superstition
Willie The Wimp
Cold Shot
Couldn’t Stand The Weather
Life Without You
Voodoo Chile
Goodbye

Related:
[mp3] Stevie Ray Vaughan Red Rocks 6/19/85
[mp3] Stevie Ray Vaughan – Stockholm Sweden 7/7/85
[mp3] Stevie Ray Vaughan Mr Clean

Here is a unique and rare acoustic Pearl Jam set from Neil Young’s 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit. Pearl Jam headlined the benefit along with a recently reunited Buffalo Springfield as well as Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, Modest Mouse, Grizzly Bear, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne and David Lindley.

This performance marks Pearl Jam’s 20th anniversary as a band. No need to break out your reading glasses and read that again. I did say 20 years and if you are an original fan of the band like me then you probably feel old right about now. Of all the bands of their generation Pearl Jam has aged the most gracefully. Their last two records have been two of their best which is extremely rare.

This is the second of two sets that Pearl Jam played during the benefit and has a great mixture of new and old. My personal favorite is a first ever live performance Other Side which was written by Jeff Ament and released on the Lost Dogs compilation.

If you’ve enjoyed this show please consider making a small donation to the Bridge School. There is no more worthy cause than supporting children with disabilities.

Daughter
Down
“It’s been 20 years”
Driftin’
Other Side
The End
Walk With Me (Neil Young cover) (w/Neil Young)
“A few more”
Lukin
“Sending Flowers”
Just Breathe
Black (new arrangment)
Eldery Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

Related:
[mp3] Eddie Vedder Bridge School Benefit 10/23/04 and 10/24/04
[mp3] Pearl Jam Acoustic Set + Live In LA 92

Happy Friday! Here is a decent recording of an epic Built To Spill show from Emos Austin a few weeks back. If you have an opportunity to see them on their current tour do it! BTS is the finest indie rock band that Boise has to offer. Dates below.

Liar
In The Morning
You Were Right
Hindsight
Kick It In The Sun
Stab
Ripple
Whenever You Go
Time Trap
The Weather
Dystopian Dream Girl
Carry The Zero
Control / Offer
Stop The Show
Car
Conventional Wisdom

Built To Spill 2010 Tour Dates:

Fri, 11/12/2010 WOW Hall – Eugene, OR
Sat, 11/13/2010 Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
Mon, 11/15/2010 The Wild Buffalo – Bellingham, WA
Wed, 11/17/2010 Wilma Theatre – Missoula, MT
Thu, 11/18/2010 Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA
Fri, 11/19/2010 The Showbox – Seattle, WA
Sat, 11/20/2010 The Showbox – Seattle, WA
Wed, 12/29/2010 Metro – Sydney, NSW
Thu, 12/30/2010 Peats Ridge Festival – Glenworth Valley, NSW
Fri, 12/31/2010 Pyramid Rock Festival – Phillip Island, VIC
Sat, 01/01/2011 Corner Hotel – Melbourne, VIC
Sun, 01/02/2011 The Zoo – Brisbane, QLD
Tue, 01/04/2011 Rosemount Hotel – Perth, WA

Here is a soundboard from an amazingly intimate performance Patterson Hood gave in the alley of Deep Groove Records a couple weeks back. If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like to sit on a porch with Patterson and listen him play a few tunes this should give you a pretty good idea.

Patterson is currently touring Europe with the Drive By Truckers and you should take the opportunity to see them live if you haven’t. They are one of the best live bands touring today!

Intro
Too Much Sex, Too Little Jesus
Nine Bullets
Uncle Disney
Sinkhole
Heathens
Everybody Needs Love
Murdering Oscar
Pollyanna

The Sun’s Serenade To The Earth
Ocracoke

There’s an up and coming jazz cat named Ben Maney from Knoxville that I recently discovered whose making some mighty fine sounds with his group Countless Sheep. Ben is a jazz pianist and multi instrumentalist with some killer chops:

Ben Many and Countless Sheep have a sound is difficult to categorize because its got so many facets and takes you so many places when you listen. Its the musical equivalent of being at Thanksgiving mixing the gravy with the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, candied yams and stuffing. The result is a sensory cornucopia that hits you on many levels.

I recently had the good fortune to ask Ben a few questions and give him a chance to introduce himself to the cuckoobird.net audience:

I hear so elements of so many of my favorite musicians in your songs. Who has had the most influence on your sound?

Good question and a tough one. This one always sends me spinnin a little. Seems I’ve been branching out more than I ever have in some ways and am narrowing down in others. There are some jazz musicians whose recordings have and I know will continue to both inspire and baffle me. Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, Keith Jarret and of course John Coltrane, Miles Davis and many many others in the more impressionistic modern jazz vein. LateIy I’ve taken more of a turn into styles that might be considered a little more “raw” by some folks. Or some might say “rootsy” ragtime,blues,gospel,honkytonk. Seems the older I get the further back I tend to draw into these styles which lead me to players like Dr. John and James Booker. I saw Allen Toussant recently and I left the theater a completely different guy. Just amazing. But all of this is more about playing. Playing piano which is my bread and butter now along with teaching piano. Writing, arranging, guitar playing, singing. I approach these things a lot more innocently because I have less formal knowledge about from a lot of different genres.
Very into Elliot smith lately. Leonard Cohen, Dylan, Joni Mitchel. like a lot of more current artists too. Alexi Murdoch, Kelly Joe Phelps. The process of writing music really does take up a great deal of time so I don’t really find myself learning songs, copping licks and that sort of thing the way I used to. The music that i pay attention to still has a huge influence on what I’ve been doing lately and yeah I guess your right. It kinda goes all over the place. I guess I really do have an equal amount of attraction and respect for many different genres/styles and somehow I feel like if I were to compromise that in some way then i would cease to learn things the way i’m used to learning because I’m used to thinking of this world of music as being very vast infinitely vast and exciting. That’s what really drives me. Last but not least I have to say that the musicians who I have actually had the good fortune of playing with have undoubtedly been the most significantly influential folks on my playing,writing and musical maturity in general.

Your piano playing is impressive. How long have you been playing and what inspired you to pick it up?

Well though I was a bit of a shifty, lazy sort of misfit of a kid I’ve had a fascination with music for as long as I can remember including classical music. I took my first piano lesson at the age of 6 but like most kids who start that young I never practiced and eventually quit. My interest and fascination with music never ceased though I took it back up again for a couple of years or so as an early teen. Studied with an old man who was also the choral director at a Catholic Church. He had his doctorate in music and just bombarded me with music theory and it was almost insufferable. He despised jazz and rock n roll. The fact that i had such an affinity for those things and my general lazy approach to everything including what he was showing me. But a lot of it stuck despite all of that and I started making up my own songs playing along with the radio and that sort of thing. So it just got to the point where I just didn’t really know what else to do with myself outside of playing music. And I guess you could say that still holds true today to an extent though I’m kinda getting into gardening some lately. Not so great at it though but that’s what makes it fun sometimes because things take you by surprise. I’m like ‘wow! look zucchini..cool!..wait when did I plant zucchini??

Do you write the majority of the songs for Ben Maney and Countless Sheep or is it more of a group effort? What is the creative process like?

I have to say I feel extremely lucky. I do write the songs and most of the arrangements aside from a section here and there but I can’t tell you how incredible my friends/bandmates make this stuff sound compared to the shell that i start out with. I’m becoming so acutely aware the older i get that the magic of things really does depend on the details.It’s not so much the ‘what’ but the ‘how’ that really makes a difference. I’m very lucky to be working and playing with musicians who really dig in and listen to those little subtleties and pay close attention to dynamics. Makes a huge difference and they come up with sounds and ideas that just chill me to the bone. Of course I mean that as a compliment in the highest order. Also they are phenomenal improvisers so they of course play their own solos and that aspect of this music may be what I like the most. I’m really into the arranging thing these days and I thoroughly enjoy coming up with little instrumental parts and counter melodies but it took a lot of know how and great talent and musicality to make it sound the way it should..to make it fit. The drum parts were all done by Chad Melton, a great friend of mine. He’s amazing, playing some with Jerry Douglas, Larkin Poe, Jill Andrews and The Lovel Sisters. He of course came up with his own parts. I really just gave him a time signature,a tempo and a vibe and he made sweet lemonade out of it. Ocracoke switches from 7/8 to 13/8 and back and he of course was just smooth as silk with it. That’s just how he is. Jon Whitlock played percussion on some songs ..absolutely phenomenal.. Jon plays and tours with Christabel and the Jons. He came up with his own concepts for his parts and used a variety of instruments. He identifies the personality of a song and then reinforces it with the rhythms and textures he comes up with. Brilliant, truly brilliant stuff.

I know that you play shows around Knoxville. Do you have any plans to go on the road in the near future? If so you should come to Austin!

Yeah man! Love to..heh heh I’ll play for Miller High Life and grilled cheese sandwiches. I love Austin. .really really love Austin. I have an Aunt who lived there for a few years and I visited a couple of times and just had a blast. You guys truly have an incredible scene. I do play around our region here in the south east some. I occasionally venture out to Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Asheville and Johnson City. I’ve played in New York a couple of times while visiting friends out there but I don’t tour though I’d love to. Just can’t afford it yet. Hopefully I’ll get there. Usually when I do play out of town it’s for a sort of private solo piano function or something similar to that with a band. I’m hoping to catch my original stuff up with what I’ve participated in with other projects. Hopefully it will take off. I feel like it’s still cruising down the runway right now.

Is there anything else we should know about your music?

I’m actually working on two records at the same time right now. One is a new Countless Sheep record which is almost entirely instrumental. The other is a solo record which will contain a few covers. Looks like all of the songs on this one will involve vocals and will be instrumentally stripped down. I’ve been playing a lot of solo shows lately in and around Knoxville. I’m always looking for great new places to play. I love to hear from anyone with a sincere interest in allowing me to play an original set or two.

Its hard to believe that SRV has been gone twenty years already. He has now influenced an entire generation of guitar players that have only been able to experience his music from his albums and live recordings.

Here is another great live Stevie Ray recording from the 1985 Jazz & Blues Festival in Stockholm, Sweden. Its sure to please the ear and soothe the soul. Enjoy!

Couldn’t Stand the Weather
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Pride and Joy
Look at Little Sister
Come On (Pt. III)
Life Without You
Love Struck Baby
Gone Home
Texas Flood

Related:
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Mr Clean
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Red Rocks Amphitheatre 6/19/85

Here is a classic Austin performance that was way too good not so share. This is a vintage KGSR radio broadcast of John Hiatt and the Guilty Dogs’ flawless, jaw dropping, head exploding acoustic and electric sets that were recorded over the course of two days at the Continental Club in Austin. It also includes a great interview with Jody Denver.

John Hiatt is one of those rare musicians that has a style that is so unique and universal that it is timeless. This music is just as relevant today as it was seventeen years ago when this show took place. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

If you like this show consider purchasing John Hiatt’s newest record The Open Road.

Set One:
Interview-Intro
Trudy and Dave
Crossing Muddy Waters
Through Your Hands
Drive South
Angel
Interview
Real Fine Love
Old Habits
Child of the Wild Blue Yonder
Icy Blue Heart
Paper Thin
Memphis in the Meantime

Set Two:
Interview
Perfectly Good Guitar
Twenty One
Down at the Canebreak
Straight Out of Time
Thank You Girl
Interview
Something Wild
Blue Telescope
Permanent Hurt
Where Is the Next One Coming From

Set Three:
Interview
Your Dad Did
Thing Called Love
Lipstick Sunset
Interview
Slow Turning
Have a Little Faith In Me
Georgia Rae
Band Introductions
The River Knows Your Name

What happens if you combine star producer Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor) and Sparrow, the one-woman driving force behind Doctors & Dealers, in a studio and close the door for a month? You get the Trouble EP and the upcoming album, Every Sinner Has A Future.

Gordon Raphael, who had been following the career of Doctors & Dealers with great interest since the release of her earlier albums, Confessions of a Drunken Mind and Lost Friends and Newfound Habits, was quick to take Sparrow under his wing when the time came to record album number three. The only outline that they had throughout their recording sessions was to make an album that sounded like Chicago, if it were directed by Tim Burton — and they accomplished the goal with fervor.

To get the shabby, disheveled sound that they wanted, Gordon, Sparrow and Doctors & Dealers’ long-time collaborator Anders Lager chose to forego hiring session musicians in the studio. Instead, they played and recorded every instrument themselves, from 12-string guitar to tuba.

The result, to quote the producer himself, was “classic, quite fantastic.” With her twisted playfulness and dark cynicism, Sparrow takes us with her on a trip down the rabbit hole and Trouble EP is a taste of what’s to come with the release of Every Sinner Has A Future, out in spring 2011.

So ladies, put your feathered headbands on and gentlemen, find your wingtip shoes, and everyone knock three times on the speakeasy door to be let inside.

Backstabber
Trouble
Steal Your Life
Stubborn Liar

I was inspired to post this show after watching Into The Wild last night. Vedder’s songwriting and performances on the soundtrack add such a great dimension to the movie. I wish he’d do more solo work.

Here is a testament of his prowess as a solo singer songwriter:

Eddie Vedder
Bridge School Benefit
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CA

October 23, 2004:
Soon Forget (ukelele)
Better Man
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Masters Of War

October 24, 2004:
I Am Mine
Man Of The Hour
I Believe In Miracles
Baby Beluga
Here’s To The Land
Last Kiss

On a related note, Pearl Jam has announced that they’ll be playing the 2010 Bridge School Benefit.