Category: Music

Billy Joel Gets in a “New York State of Mind” With a Vanderbilt Freshman

Billy Joel New York State of Mind College

Several weeks ago, Billy Joel appeared at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee for “An Evening of Questions and Answers and a Little Bit of Music.” During the question and answer portion of the program, one brave freshman named Michael Pollack stood up and asked the legend if he could accompany Joel on “New York State of Mind.” Joel said yes, and Pollack came up on the Langford Auditorium stage.

After Joel gave a few suggestions to the student, off they went for a rousing rendition of “New York State of Mind.” Check it out.

Another version of the video is available here and currently on Joel’s website.

Pollack later explained what it was like to be on stage playing with Billy Joel in this InsideVandy Video by Liz Muller. He notes how during the performance he tried to remind himself to enjoy the amazing experience.

What musician would you like to accompany? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Billy Joel is Turning the Lights Back On After The Longest Time
  • Who Was Poor Old Johnnie Ray?
  • The First Farm Aid
  • Billy Joel Establishes His Residency at Madison Square Garden (Show Review)
  • Hurricane Sandy Concert Ends With Springsteen’s Hope
  • Happy 30th Birthday to the Compact Disc!

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Son Volt Goes to Bakersfield on “Honky Tonk”

    Son Volt Honky Tonk

    On Tuesday, March 5, Son Volt releases its seventh album Honky Tonk (2013). The country Bakersfield Sound influences the album, and lead singer Jay Farrar described why the band chose the album’s title: “Honky tonk music is about heartache, heartbreak, the road.” For those like me who have been following Farrar and Son Volt since the band spun off from Uncle Tupelo, the new album captures what was great about the band from the very beginning, even though Farrar’s current version of Son Volt has different band members than when they started. Just listen to the fiddle on the opening track, “Hearts and Minds”:

    Here is Son Volt’s teaser video for the appropriately entitled “Bakersfield” from the album:

    American Songwriter magazine is streaming the album for a limited time, so hop to their website to hear the rest of the tracks. Farrar also has a new memoir Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs coming out this month about his career, including the breakup of Uncle Tupelo that led Jeff Tweedy to create Wilco. After listening through the tracks, I am excited about the new release. With new and upcoming releases from Son Volt, The Mavericks, Steve Earle, and others, it is already looking like a good year for Americana music.

    What is your favorite Son Volt album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Uncle Tupelo’s Last Concert on May 1, 1994
  • Anniversary of Uncle Tupelo’s “March 16-20, 1992”
  • New Track from Jeff Tweedy: “I’ll Sing It”
  • New Track from Son Volt: “Devil May Care”
  • Son Volt: “Back Against the Wall”
  • Merle Haggard: “Kern River”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    The Reunited Mavericks: “In Time”

    The Mavericks

    The Mavericks, who split up in 2003, are back with a new CD, In Time (2013). While lead singer Raul Malo has had a successful solo career and multi-instrumentalist Robert Reynolds and other band members have had some success on their own, they still sound great together.

    I remember listening to their debut self-titled album on a cassette in my car in 1991 when “What a Crying Shame” was all over the radio, so I am glad to hear them together again, even if the listening source has changed. Now, I can listen to them on my computer, and you can too because for a limited time the album is streaming below. Check out the new In Time CD from the Mavericks and hear the various musical influences from Tex-Mex, Cuba, Hawaii, Latin rhythms, Bakersfield and more. [March 9 Update: The stream of the new album was only available for a limited time, so I have replaced the now-dead stream with the video for one of the songs from the album, “Born to Be Blue.”]

    The other members of the band include drummer Paul Deakin, keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden and guitarist Eddie Perez. The Mavericks’ website notes that during the eight-year hiatus, the band members rarely spoke and had not even been in the same room together. When they decided to reunite for this album, the members just showed up. According to Malo, the band was back in sync in the first minute, “We started playing, and it just happened. It was that explosion of sounds! There’s this beautiful simplicity to this, because when we play together, we know each other so well.”

    Listeners seem to agree about the chemistry. The Los Angeles Times gives the CD four stars out of four, and the CD is getting a lot of other good reviews from places like Paste.

    While you enjoy the music, think on the friends you have not talked to in the last eight years. Maybe it will inspire you to pick up the phone.

    What is your favorite song on the new album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Mavericks on The Tonight Show in 1994: “What a Crying Shame”
  • When Dean and Jerry Reunited on the MDA Labor Day Telethon
  • The Mavericks Cover Waylon’s “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”
  • The Replacements Reunite
  • Van Morrison: Til I Gain Control Again

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Bob Seger Performs New Song “All the Roads” — And a Long Lost Classic

    Bob Seger Toledo

    I know some Chimesfreedom readers are big Bob Seger fans, so they will be excited to hear that this week Seger played a new song during his “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” tour performance at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. On his first tour since 2011, Seger explained that the new song, “All the Roads,” is “kinda about the career.” He wrote “All of the Roads” in September, so we can hope there is more coming. Check it out.

    In Toledo, Seger and his Silver Bullet Band, which now also includes guitarist Rob McNelley, played “All the Roads” during a 24-song, two-hour and 10-minute show. According to Rolling Stone, his performance of “Like a Rock” was the first time he had played that song live since 1996, resting the song after it was used in a Chevrolet commercial. But when he sang the song this week, it was a heartfelt Bob Seger song, not a truck-selling song.

    Seger played some interesting covers too, including “California Stars,” which was recorded by Wilco and Billy Bragg when they put music to Woody Guthrie’s lost lyrics on the CD Mermaid Avenue (1998). It’s a great song, and Seger does a good job on it.

    Other songs from the performance are on YouTube.

    What do you think of the new Bob Seger song and what would you like to hear him cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”
  • Uncle Tupelo’s Last Concert on May 1, 1994
  • Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen “Shout” In Their Third Performance Together
  • New Track from Jeff Tweedy: “I’ll Sing It”
  • Wilco Live in Chicago, 1996
  • Son Volt Goes to Bakersfield on “Honky Tonk”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Steve Earle Sings About the Homeless on “Invisible”

    Steve Earle Invisible

    As we previously reported, Steve Earle’s new CD The Low Highway will be released April 16. In the meantime, today Earle premiered on CMT a video for one of the songs on the new album, “Invisible.”

    Earle continues to use his music to address social issues and this new video is no exception. The video follows a homeless man around the streets of New York. Meanwhile, Earle plays his guitar on a rooftop, daring us to look around us, as he sings about people passing the “invisible” homeless without knowing. Check it out.

    What is your favorite Steve Earle album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Steve Earle Performs Tracks from “The Low Highway” on KEXP
  • Steve Earle Performing “The Low Highway” and “Invisible”
  • Steve Earle Performs “Invisible” on David Letterman and Announces Box Set
  • Steve Earle’s “The Low Highway” Coming Soon
  • Trying to Make Sense of the Short Life of Justin Townes Earle (Book Review)
  • In Praise of Fuel Efficiency: Justin Townes Earle’s “Champagne Corolla”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)