Monday, January 30, 2012

1950-1955


   1950-1955 
            Unsurprisingly, Édith Piaf sounds entirely appropriate next to Frank Sinatra.  Somewhat more surprisingly, Miles Davis sounds really good mixed in with the both of them.  I tend to think of Davis in terms of his big album-sized statement albums (Kind of Blue, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew), and forget that jazz used to be a singles medium, and Davis got his start doing that.  And even the longer stuff still sounds mighty right next to the vocal jazz of the period.  Not that it should be surprising, but I just separate these things in my mind.
                Also, whether it’s the music as a whole or just a reflection of my collection, my early 50s stuff splits pretty clearly between jazz/pop on one side and country/blues on the other.  Whatever happened since then, it’s fun to remember that, this early in their evolution, the biggest difference between country and blues was who played the music, and nothing all that great in the music itself.  And, of course, by the mid-50s, we start to get our first proper rock n’ roll, which at this point fits really well alongside the blues and country.  None of this is particularly new or insightful, I guess, but go listen to Elvis’s Sun Sessions.  1) already Elvis was kicking tremendous amounts of ass.  2) the difference between Elvis and, say, Hank Williams on one side or John Lee Hooker on the other is that Elvis was more grungy than the former and more frenetic than the latter.  Also definitely worth noting that in this period we get Chuck Berry, our other great early rock ‘n roller, the one who could play an instrument and write songs.  Still, in 1955, Elvis feels more important, if just because he less clearly can be pushed in with either blues or country.  Also, he’s a far better singer than any of the other early rock & rollers, apart from maybe Gene Vincent.
Song of the “Year”: Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right”.  I think “Rocket 88” has a stronger case for the first rock & roll song, but “That’s All Right” is the debut of a massively important artist, and still tears today. 
Album of the Year: Probably Miles Davis’s “Bag’s Groove.”  But largely because this is still a singles-dominated era.  Still, a good one.  If it wasn’t an after-the-fact comp, Elvis’s Sun Sessions would be a contender.  That’s just good stuff. 
Artist Most Benefiting from Reevaluation:  Édith Piaf.  I picked up some Édith Piaf mostly because Liz likes her so much.  But it turns out there’s a reason for that. 
Artist Most Diminished in Reevaluation:  Pete Seeger.  Already by the 1950s, folk starts to sound formulaic and imitative, concerned with sounding “correct” than evolving as a living genre.  Still, that’s probably harsher than I mean.  The songs & performances are all very good, and there’s a reason they’ve been summer camp sing-a-long classics.  But it pales next to artists like Leadbelly & Woody Guthrie in the 40s and earlier.

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