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The story behind this song is the stuff of legends. It’s easy to forget that the story of John Lennon post-Beatles was not all just being a house-husband and loving Yoko.  Some will remember that there was the infamous “Lost Weekend” which truthfully was more like two years, from 1973-75 where Lennon ran off with Yoko’s assistant to Los Angeles, hanging out with legendary boozing and reckless types like Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon, Phil Spector and David Bowie, and in the case of this song, Mick Jagger.  There are two competing claims for the origin of this song; one has Lennon playing guitar and producing, the other has him just producing, but this legendary session has everyone from crack session drummer Jim Keltner to Al Kooper (organ extraordinaire who played with Bob Dylan among others), Jack Bruce of Cream on bass Harry Nilsson on backing vocals and Bobby Keys (who played almost every sax solo in the seventies) providing the horn break. The song material fits Jagger like a glove, a dirty blues euphemism. But the star of the show is John Lennon’s production, a greasy concoction of bass and punchy horns, that makes this track just so damn perfect. If there was anything that better defined the rock star lifestyle in the 70s in all its excessive glory, I’d be hard pressed to believe it.

Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)- Mick Jagger (Produced by John Lennon) 

I’ll be the first to admit that I was worried when I heard that The Morning Benders were taking on a new name and a whole new sound.  Having fallen in love with Big Echo, one of the first records that really resonated with my life, an intersection of time and place. Furthermore, I had never identified with the 90’s R&B that the band loved. Yet, I have to give credit to Chris Chu and the band as their first single “Keep It For Your Own” from their upcoming self-titled POP ETC features that  tender songwriting intact, with clever hooks and the catchy recording experimentation that made Big Echo such a fun album to listen to. It’s produced by Dangermouse and you can grab the track on iTunes

Preorder the album from Rough Trade.

My introduction to one of the most influential and steadfast bassists of all time was through the original Blues Brothers movie. Little did I know at the time that Dunn, (who smoked a pipe and at the time of filming had quite a large  afro ) along with Steve Cropper had been part of the famous Booker T. & the MG’s the backing band for Stax Records and  behind every Otis Redding song you’ve ever heard, along with many others like Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Sam & Dave, pretty much all Southern Soul worth listening to in the mid to late 1960s.  Here he is on “She Caught The Katy” from the original Blues Brothers soundtrack and “Hold On, I’m Comin’ ” by Sam & Dave playing that inimitable fluid blues bass groove. RIP

She Caught The Katy- Blues Brothers 

Hold On, I’m Comin’- Sam & Dave 

In a time of retromania, Nick Waterhouse has the scene on lockdown, both updating the rocker with glasses look of Buddy Holly and the dapper sartorial style of Mad Men, Waterhouse’s debut LP Time’s All Gone echoes the early 60’s music scene not only with it’s classic album cover style, but with the gritty blown-out R&B concoction that made parents worry about the sexual willies of rock & roll.  Waterhouse doesn’t care if you decide to film from the waist-up though, he’s a man’s man, the one who steers away from clear liquors and revels in dark bars and whiskey shots straight up. For every part that Mayer Hawthorne is evoking he clean cut soul of Smokey Robinson, Waterhouse focuses on the dirty fuzz of R&B that the Rolling Stones called home, and at the ripe young age of 25, he’s only just getting started. “Indian Love Call” has that old school swagger straight from the start, the uplifting guitar, the cooing background vocals, the sabulous sax and a dark live sound. Be sure to check out his album opener, “Say I Wanna Know” as well.

 Indian Love Call- Nick Waterhouse

Say I Wanna Know- Nick Waterhouse

Time’s All Gone was released on Innovative Leisure Records on May 1st, 2012. You can buy the physical copy (both CD and Vinyl) here and find the digital version on iTunes here

You can find Nick Waterhouse on Facebook here and follow him on Twitter @nickwaterhouse