Posts Tagged ‘Peter Case’

PETER CASE – ” The Midnight Broadcast “

Posted: March 20, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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“The Midnight Broadcast” is the most unusual entry in Peter Case’s extensive and eminently admirable career. The sixteen tracks interweave music, sound effects, and spoken word segments to create a simulation of that quasi-mystical sensation that’s inspired so many music lovers and musicians since the invention of radio. It is ultimately an experience that is as thought-provoking as it is dream-like.

The Buffalo, New York native has done a record something like this before, specifically, the 2007 Grammy Award-nominated “Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John” Serving as a link to that deserved homage, it is thus appropriate folk-bluesman to Estes’ “Oh the Morning”/”President Kennedy” appears here. But it’s an illustration of Peter’s aptitude as a musicologist as well, as are numerous selections from the public domain: “Stewball” and “Captain Stormalong,” among others, are juxtaposed with a pair of astute recognitions of influence in the form of Mance Lipscomb’s “Charlie James” and Memphis Minnie’s “Bumble Bee.”

Two Bob Dylan tunes further reinforce Case’s grasp of history, musical and otherwise. Of a piece with their surroundings, the spare acoustic-based performances of both “Early Roman Kings” and “This Wheel’s On Fire”  are unfettered by effect in the singing or playing. In addition, these compositions of the Nobel Laureate’s are quite purposefully sequenced: the former, a cull from The Bard of Minnesota’s splendid “Tempest” album of 2012, appears just as the album is gaining momentum, while the latter, climax to the epochal Music From Big Pinkby The Band, also concludes this LP (and on a comparably ominous note).

Written by Bob with that iconic group’s bassist/vocalist Rick Danko during The Basement Tapes era, this secular fire-and-brimstone narrative gains even more foreboding in this context through its subdued rendition (and as it mirrors the dark grey clouds of this cover art). It’s an extension too of an almost subliminal link of continuity with Dylan’s entire oeuvre, a notion unavoidable before Case’s sole original concludes; on its very own terms, “Just Hanging On” is a sage and patient observation on our trying times, but it gains further significance via its circuitous but nonetheless recognizable echoes (intentional or not) of Dylan’s own “I’ll Keep It With Mine” from 1964.

Setting the tone in more ways than one for The Midnight Broadcast,  the deceptively lo-fi audio quality there mirrors the authentically rootsy range of songs including “Grey Funnel Live.” But the sonics are in line with Case’s voice, which, even as it’s retained its fundamentally boyish tone over the years, has gained a weathered quality that lends it even more character. As weighty as some of the performances can sound, like “Going Down Slow,” the musicianship itself is uplifting, deriving as it does from what is essentially a very personalized and intimate simplicity.

Other cuts here manifest those virtues too, and, in doing so help illustrate the evolution of modern folk music. “When I Was A Cowboy,”  for instance, was often covered by the late great Irish bluesman Rory Gallagher and attributed to Leadbelly under the title of “Out On The Western Plain.” Peter and his various collaborators, including the versatile likes of Lee Fortier and Bert Deivert, clearly evoke the timeless (and durable) quality of such material, while producer and multi-instrumentalist Ron Franklin’s contributions achieve much the same end: brief as are the likes of the 1:07 duration “Jupiter Holler No. 4,” they become integrated with their surroundings because they sound complete unto themselves.

As does the austere remainder of  “The Midnight Broadcast”, with its skeletal arrangements adorned with harmonica, Vox organ, and maracas. But then Peter Case has never allowed extraneous ornamentation on any of his records, so this latest execution of his ‘less is more’ concept is not only wholly in line with the rest of his solo discography, but a distinctly memorable exercise in ambition on its own terms.

Bandaloop Records Released on: 12th March 2021.

The PLIMSOULS – ” The Plimsouls “

Posted: April 6, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Plimsouls were an American rock band formed in Paramount, California in 1978. The band recorded two full-length albums and an EP before splitting up in 1984.
Formed by singer, songwriter, guitarist Peter Case, who has sported a wide-ranging musical career ranging from Power Pop to folk-rock to solo acoustic performance; he was a member of cult fave San Franciso band The Nerves who had released the influential 1976 self-titled EP that included the song “Hanging on the Telephone” (later a hit for Blondie) Case (who had fronted the “The Nerves”.

The Plimsouls began as a trio in 1978, initially named the Tone Dogs, which included Case, bassist Dave Pahoa, and drummer Louie Ramírez From their inception, the band quickly became a crowd favourite in the Los Angeles club scene. Long Beach promoter Stephen Zepeda signed the group to his Beat Records label for a five-song EP called Zero Hour which was released in 1980. The_Plimsouls added guitarist Eddie Muñoz who joined the group during the recording of the EP.

Danny Holloway produced the Zero Hour EP and managed the group. The song “Zero Hour” received heavy airplay on local station KROQ-FM, and the Plimsouls grew to be one of the top club draws in the city. Case received critical praise for his song-writing. In 1981, Planet Records signed the group and released their self-titled debut album which Holloway also produced. The single “Now” received strong local airplay in Los Angeles and was also covered by Phil Seymour appearing on the 2011 CD edition of his second album. Seymour also appeared live with the Plimsouls during the late 1970s, both as a guest vocalist and as an artist on the same bill. The band received some national attention in 1982 when the single “A Million Miles Away” was released on their own Shaky City record label, distributed by Bomp! Records. The song reached No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock (chart). “The song was also featured in the 1983 film “Valley Girl.

The band also appeared in the film performing the song and parts of two others. The song was included on the band’s second album, Everywhere at Once released by Geffen Records in 1983. “A Million Miles Away” was re-released as a single in 1983 and peaked at No. 82 on the chart. The band broke up 1984. Several years later, in 1990, a then up-and-coming band named the Goo Goo Dolls covered “A Million Miles Away” on their Hold Me Up album. A re-recorded version of the song is also included on the Speed (1994 film) soundtrack album.

The Plimsouls – A Million Miles Away

Singer, songwriter & guitarist Peter Case, who has sported a wide-ranging musical career ranging from Power Pop to folk-rock to solo acoustic performance; he had been a member of cult fave San Francisco band The Nerves who released the influential 1976 self-titled EP that included the song “Hanging on the Telephone”. The Plimsouls became one of the standard bearers of ’80s Power Pop via such essential tracks as as “A Million Miles Away” & “The Oldest Story in the World”, & were featured in the movie, ‘Valley Girl’; Peter’s critically-acclaimed solo career began with the 1986 album ‘Peter Case’ & the 1989 ‘The Man With the Blue Post-Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar’; he released five studio albums on folk label Vanguard Records between 1995-2002; his 2007 ‘Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John’ (on Yep Roc) was nominated for a Grammy award; his most recent releases include the 2010 ‘Wig!‘, followed by outtakes compilation ‘The Case Files’ in 2011 & new studio album ‘HWY 62’ in 2015 (Omnovire Records); The Plimsouls were inducted into the Power Pop Hall of Fame in 2017; Peter is also an active musicologist & regularly conducts songwriting workshops.

PETER CASE – ” On The Way Downtown: Recorded Live On FolkScene “

Posted: March 17, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Peter case on the way

Peter Case has always been a pioneer. Genre-tripping through punk with The Nerves (“Hanging On The Telephone”), new wave/power pop with The Plimsouls (“A Million Miles Away”) and Americana with his Grammy®-nominated, self-titled solo debut. It is a career that is still going strong over 40 years later on the strength of his exceptional songwriting..

With 18 previously unissued live performances from 1998 and 2000 originally broadcast on KPFK’s FolkScene. On The Way Downtown: Recorded Live On FolkScene is a snapshot from nearly twenty years ago when Case sat still long enough for the airwaves to catch up to him. This new album captures material from two live performances on the highly influential KPFK (Los Angeles) syndicated radio program in 1998 and 2000. The first half features material from his then, newly released Full Service, No Waiting—an album New York magazine called “stunning.” The latter half contains material from 2000’s Flying Saucer Blues, as well as songs from his earlier releases. Plus, some choice covers appear as well. Both intimate acoustic sets have remained unheard since their original broadcasts.

While he continues to receive accolades for his recorded work (including 2015’s HWY 62), there is a very good reason he continues to pack venues when he plays live. On The Way Downtown: Recorded Live On FolkScene gives the listener a chance to experience his incredible gift of songwriting and performance.

Both intimate acoustic sets have remained unheard since their original broadcasts.

PETER CASE – ” Peter Case “

Posted: November 19, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Two years after the breakup of the Plimsouls, Peter Case returned with a solo album that departed from soul-tinged rock ‘n’ roll and moved to folk and blues . T-Bone Burnett’s production includes electric guitars and drums, but they’re layered carefully among acoustic and synthetic elements. Case’s new material sported more abstract surfaces and tackled introspective and socially conscious themes, and combined with Burnett’s production, led the singer to more subtle vocals. A few of the songs, including “Walk in the Woods” and the Pogues’ “Pair of Brown Eyes,” are narrative, but others, including “Echo Wars,” “Steel Strings” and “I Shook His Hand” remain more open ended.

Case’s is matched by Burnett and the assembled musicians, as harmonica and percussive guitar are backed by a Van Dyke Parks string arrangement on “Small Town Spree,” and Jerry Marotta’s drum machine adds texture on several tracks. Omnivore’s 2016 reissue includes a sixteen-page booklet with new liner notes by Case, and expands the original twelve-track lineup with seven bonuses. The latter features acoustic versions of “Steel Strings” and “I Shook His Hand” previously issued on the promo-only Selections from Peter Case, and five vault finds. Latter day fans who haven’t dug back this far in Case’s catalog now have a reason to do so, and fans have a good reason to upgrade.

thanks to No depression

PETER CASE – ” Hwy 62 “

Posted: December 6, 2015 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Born in Buffalo, just a few blocks from U.S. Route 62, Peter Case made his way to San Francisco to busk on the streets, then to Los Angeles where he spearheaded the late-70s power pop movement with the Nerves and Plimsouls. He’s since taken a more solitary road, touring with just his songs and guitar, gathering stories for his writing. Though not literally itinerant – he’s still homed in Los Angeles – his travels have traced the trails of those who inspire him. His latest collection of songs is titled after the northeast-to-southwest highway that runs through his hometown, and that his childhood eyes saw as a “connection to the world I wanted to live in, the American West”

The productions step back to a folkier vibe from the electric blues of 2010’s Wig!, but retain the underlying power of drummer D.J. Bonebrake, and add the instrumental voices of guitarist Ben Harper and bassist David Carpenter. The songs wind through a variety of musical landscapes, just as Route 62 winds through Bobby Fuller’s El Paso, Buddy Holly’s Lubbock, Sonny Throckmorton’s Carlsbad, Woody Guthrie’s Okemah, Ronnie Hawkins’ Fayetteville, the Everly Brothers’ Central City, and Phil Ochs’ Columbus. The social consciousness of Guthrie and Ochs’ are evoked in the opening “Pelican Bay,” as Case questions the industrialization of America’s prisons and the particular harshness of solitary confinement.

A broader palette of social injustice is on Case’s mind as “Water From a Stone” segues between the travails of undocumented aliens, corporatism, global warming, the appropriation of Native American lands, rising eviction rates, crushing educational debt and outsourced manufacturing. Justice is called into question again in both “Evicted” and “All Dressed Up (for Trial),” with the latter suggesting that final judgment isn’t necessarily a mortal matter. That same leveling in the afterlife provides redemption for the existential lament “The Long Good Time,” and turns the gravesite of “Bluebells” into a pastoral place to leave behind one’s foibles.

Case is often described as a troubadour – a wandering singer who collects and transports stories – and the slow blues “Waiting on a Plane” takes this role into the jet age. Though the lyric describes a thief whose escape is blocked, one can’t help think this was written during an unintended tour stop in an airport terminal. A more scenic view of blue highways and club dates is painted in “New Mexico,” with Harper’s electric guitar painting a shadowy late-night mesa. Case’s songwriting is in fine form, but his most full-throated passion comes on a cover of Dylan’s “Long Time Gone,” closing out the lyrical portion of this excellent (and long overdue) new album.