The Four Tops

Time to go to Detroit for this installment of stuff you'd be surprised that's in my collection. Ah Detroit, home of a crumbling economy, Enimem and Robocop. Hailing from that area nowadays isn't something to be proud of. But if days of yore the area churned out quite a number of successful artists spanning many genres. One of those groups was The Four Tops. Of course back in the 60's Detroit was home to the famous record label Motown. Which gave us so many superstars. The Four Tops were one of those artists that gave us countless hits.

The Four Tops started out with a group of High School friends in Detroit in the mid 50's. The band at that point was dubbed The Four Aims ans signed to another legendary label in Chess Records. After years of going nowhere and getting little to no attention, Motown head Berry Gordy Jr. convinced the band to join the Motown label in '63. From there it was a constant stream of success up until the mid 70's. Here's an amazing fact to, the bands lineup didn't change at all from '53 to '97. Think about that, over four decades with the same guys, still releasing music and touring. The only reason the lineup changed was death. Groups today simple don't have that staying power anymore. Much like every "Oldies" act, there's been a ton of best of releases throughout the years. That being said, for the post I'm going with the '74 release, 'The Four Tops Anthology'. This is a pretty much in depth 2 CD collection of the groups material from the Motown years. All the jams are here, including some collaborations with fellow Motown artists, The Supreme's. Well worth the listen.

Growing up Motown played a big part of my musical life. I grew up listening to all the Motown greats, The Temptations, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and the list goes on and on. Somehow I've always felt that The Four Tops didn't get enough respect maybe as fellow labelmates The Temptations. The group always had solid hits with the likes of "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", "It's The Same Old Song", "Reach Out I'll Be There and "Bernadette". In any case it's time to dust of the hits and enjoy some good ol R&B.

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Foo Fighters

Moving away from the Folk Rock posts and jumping back to the days of when Grunge ruled the world for this post. Again I feel like there should be another disclaimer with this post and it'll come in a minute. So with this post I'm going with the self titled debut from the Foo Fighters. You know that band Dave Grohl made famous after Nirvana was done for. So disclaimer time. I've never really been a huge fan of the Foo Fighters or Dave Grohl for that matter. That being said Deave has done some pretty cool stuff outside of the Foos. Go check out Probot or the killer documentary on Sound City Studios. Rumor has it too he's sat behind the kit for the mysterious Swedes in Ghost. In any point, I dug the first Foo record and after that I'm not sure what happened, perhaps my tastes changed or the fact that their material is overplayed. Whatever the case, this is an album that's a shock that's in my collection.

After Cobain decided to pretty much end the Grunge movement in 94, then Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl set out to record new music as an outlet to deal with the death of Cobain. Despite having offer to join some well named bands, Grohl declined and wrote and played every instrument on the debit Foo Fighters album. Pretty impressive feat really. He kept the band a secret for a bit, before recruiting former Nirvana touring Guitarist and ex The Germs guitarist Pat Smear and the rhythm section of the now defunct Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate. The played a few shows under the name and while fans were expecting Nirvana covers and more Grunge goodness, they instead were met with a solid debut album of Alt Rock. Released on the Fourth of July in 95, 'Foo Fighters' delivers a mix of Alt/Punk/Hard rock while showcasing the multi instrumental Grohl. While the singles on the record obviously stand out, along with the spooftastic video for "Big Me", the band began their domination on the Modern Rock scene.

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Going Down Highway 61

It's been a while since I threw together a post. I left off somewhere in the mist of a Folk Rock mindset. Leaving where Donovan began and now going where the legend continues. The legend of course being none other than Bob Dylan. Now for the standard disclaimer. I'm not the hugest Dylan fan out there. In fact I have to be a mood to put anything on by him. That being said I respect the hell outta the man for his contribution to music. Further proof I'm not a fan, growing up we had a nickname for him, "Mumbles", it worked for Springsteen too. But enough with the back story, let's focus on the classic from '65, 'Highway 61 Revisited'.

Dylan was a Folk hero in the early 60's, perhaps best know for his hits, "The Times They Are a-Changing" and "Blowin' In The Wind". Folksy, thinking man's music. But for the better part of five decades now, Bob Dylan continues to leave his footprint on music. The man has won just about every music award out there, sold over 100 million records, in the Hall of Fame, I mean the man is a legend. Born in raised in Minnesota, Dylan relocated to New York in the 60's and began to change the face of music. Starting out as an acoustic Folk hero in the early 60's, Dylan caused a controversy when in '65 he decided to go electric. A move that shocked the music world and is still a big topic of debate today. In July of '65  though the first single from 'Highway 61 Revisited'  was released. "Like A Rolling Stone" became a huge hit in the US and the UK. Peaking at Number 2 on the US charts, the song would go on to become one of the most acclaimed songs ever. A few years later Jimi Hendrix would cover it at the Montery Pop Festival, the song leading up to the infamous Guitar smashing and eventually sacrifice. In addition to being one of the most popular Dylan records, it also features some great musicians on it, including Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. The latter would later play in The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The Electric Flag, two bands that go under appreciated at times.

Whether you actually like Bob Dylan or not isn't really relevant. The fact the you can appreciate what he's done as a musician for five decades now is impressive. And just when you think you've heard the last of him, he somehow comes back and again reminds everyone of his influence. The man has been respected for years, ever for his worst records. He's played with countless talented musicians and introduced us to The Band all those years ago. I got the chance to see Dylan a few years back at my old job. I went into the show unsure of what to expect. I've heard the stories about the erratic shows, playing with his back to the crowd, walking out on gigs, etc. For the better part of two hours I watched a man, play in between his band, rarely speaking to the crowd, or even acknowledging them. It was interesting to say the least, but to see him play "All Along The Watchtower" and in that moment realize I was truly in the presence of Rock royalty, was and is something that I'll always remember.

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