Oh yeah, that's right - I write about music too.
My new interview with John Oates + my reviews of the new box sets from Burt Bacharach/Elvis Costello and Genesis.
I had the pleasure of speaking to John Oates last week in anticipation of Paste premiering his new song (above), a somewhat radical re-working of Timmy Thomas’s “Why Can’t We Live Together.” You can read the interview here.
Oates is three songs into a campaign to release a new song about every month or so throughout 2023. I’ve heard ‘em all, and I’m quite knocked-out. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much. Some artists contribute so many songs to the fabric of pop culture that you start taking them for granted. And I tend not to expect much from people in the later stages of their career. But this was a real pleasant surprise—and a nudge to go digging into the Hall & Oates catalog to see just how important Oates’ contribution has been.
Timmy Thomas’s original:
While you’re at it, I can’t say enough about this song / album:
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Speaking of contributing so many songs to the fabric of pop culture, I reviewed The Songs of Bacharach and Costello box set here. For the best taste of what you’re in for, this clip of Costello has to be the most charming unboxing video I’ve ever seen:
A track from the set:
Some more background: a recently-reposted segment from 1999:
Lastly, I also reviewed the new Genesis box set BBC Broadcasts, which I’ve been enjoying quite a bit—and again, much to my surprise. Genesis left behind a complicated legacy. They’re one of the pillars of progressive rock, but from about 1980 or so they veered heavily into slick, commercial pop. As I say in my review, the contrast between these two periods couldn’t be more glaring.
What often gets overlooked, though, is that there’s a four-album stretch between those periods, after original frontman Peter Gabriel’s departure in 1975, where Genesis carried on as a prog band while (very) gradually shifting to a more streamlined, song-focused approach. It’s this part of the band’s career that this box set highlighted most for me.
Songs like “Burning Rope,” “One for the Vine,” “Deep in the Motherlode,” “Dance on a Volcano” and “The Duke Suite” showcase just how musically ambitious the band still was at that time, and these versions are presented in excellent sound quality.
Aficionados should note that there’s nothing from 1976-’77 era, when guitarist Steve Hackett was still in the band (with, first, Bill Bruford followed by Chester Thompson on the drums at the shows). Also, bootleg versions of the early-’70s BBC appearances with Peter Gabriel have been floating around for years. Those bootlegs actually include more songs.
At first, I was like “Why didn’t they include more of what was available? And why didn’t they include complete shows where recordings of whole shows were available?” But then I sat and listened. To my surprise, I found that this box benefited from not being more comprehensive. There’s a flow in the running order of the tracks that’s quite rare with box sets. The sound is also vastly improved over the boots.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any official YouTube clips. So here’s this instead:
<3 SRK