Ask 411 Music 05.29.08: The Devil Made Me Do It

Posted by Blake Lauderback on 05.29.2008

We get back on track this week as we take a look at some great cover songs, more Sabbath lineup confusion, and the best songs to get you going for summer. Plus we investigate the case for/against Bono and wrap up our look at the career of Peter Frampton.


Welcome one and all to another edition of Ask 411 Music. I have to start off by apologizing to you all for skipping out on you guys last week. I promise that I have an excellent reason for doing so! Before we get in to my reasoning for last week's absence, let's take a quick look at where we left off and what we learned from our last session together.

- Peter Frampton still has some serious fans out there that love to see his name in print.

- I was correct about Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show… everyone that responded was very passionately for or against them. Not a whole lot of middle ground.

- I came pretty close to perfection on my list of Black Sabbath lead vocalists… falling just short in the end. More on that later as well.

- The battle lines are drawn in regards to the decades old war between Dave Mustaine and his former band, Metallica. I few of you actually sided with Dave, though the mast majority have chosen to align yourself with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.

- I am not the only one that finds a children's music CD by a band called The Barenaked Ladies both intriguing and slightly weird.

- This whole stimulus check thing has rubbed plenty of people the wrong way… and everyone seems to be perfectly fine with a list for once as no one argued that "Money" by Pink Floyd shouldn't have been atop a list about financial songs.

Now, as I promised, I am going to share with you all why I was absent for last week's lesson. At the time I was four states away from my native home of Texas in Eastern Tennessee, where I was offered a job managing another restaurant, which happens to be ideal since my darling wife's family lives only a couple of miles away from said restaurant.

What does all of that mean? Well, it means that we drove both to and from Eastern Tennessee nonstop in for days time, and now we are back home in Texas, packing our belongings and preparing to make the boring-as-hell drive back that direction in order to make a new home for ourselves and our precious kiddos.

What else does it mean? It means that we will be diving into an entirely different life and I will be without a way to vent musically, so if any of you live in that area and have been known to play some music, please drop me a line the next time you are in need of a drummer. If I go too long without playing some music I may lose my mind, and we don't want that now do we?

I suppose that is enough advertising for myself.

(Oh wait! If you haven't done so already, you can check out the Music Zone's Top 5 Controversial Moments in Music here.)

Okay, NOW I am done shilling my stuff.

Now, as promised, we will conclude our look into the life and times of Peter Frampton.

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Peter Frampton:

We left off last time right as Peter had decided that it was time to step away from his band Humble Pie, of which he was a founding member. It was at this point that he would embark on what would turn out to be a very successful solo career.

Frampton released his first solo album in 1972 which was entitled Wind of Change and featured both Ringo Starr and Billy Preston as major contributors. In the next three years he would go on to release the albums Frampton's Camel, Somethin's Happening, and Frampton, all to varying degrees of success, though none of them where considered to be an overwhelming hit.

Things would soon change with the release of his next album, 1976's Frampton Comes Alive! which featured not only his massive hit singles "Baby I Love Your Way" and "Show Me The Way," but also became the first album to prominently feature the talk box, which was a guitar effect that was pioneered and perfected by Peter. The talk box would go on to be part of his signature sound.

The album took over the top spot on the chart for ten straight weeks and was the best selling album of 1976 (fourteenth best the following year as well.) At the time, Frampton Comes Alive was the best selling live album in history, and despite all of the time that has passed since it's release, it still holds on to number four on that list. Six million copies domestically and sixteen million worldwide will do that for you.



All of his newfound success opened a door for Peter to join The Bee Gee's ill-fated film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which, on paper seemed like a can't miss opportunity. It missed… an in a big way.

Peter followed up his massively successful live album with I'm in You in 1976, which spawned a hit song with the title track and also managed to go platinum. However, dark times laid ahead for Peter, as he was involved in a car accident in the Bahamas that almost took his life. Fortunately, he survived, but not without broken bones and muscular damage. It was at this point that Peter briefly battled with substance abuse, but thankfully he was able to remedy that condition later on.

Where I Should Be marked the return to the studio for Frampton after his car accident, though the album was not altogether very successful.

The early 80's saw a new recording method for Peter and his band as they decided to record the next few albums almost completely live, which many believe led to a massive improvement in the quality of his studio albums. Mr. Frampton continued to tour throughout the 80's, and hit an upturn in his career in 1986 with the release of his album Premonition, featuring the hit single "Lying." It was at this point that Peter reunited with his childhood friend and classmate David Bowie in order to record some live material. In 1987 he played on Bowie's Never Let Me Down and on the subsequent Glass Spider Tour.

As the millennium began to wind down, Peter attempted to catch lightening in a bottle once more as he released 1995's Frampton Comes Alive! II, which used the same live format as the original, but this time featured his more recent material over his other classic works. Unfortunately he was unable to duplicate the success of version I, but then again, the first was such an amazing achievement that it was a nearly unattainable goal from the get go.

On this side of the turn of the century he released what it still his most recent work, the amazing instrumental album Fingerprints in late 2006. The disc featured appearances by some brilliant guest stars including Shawn Fichter, Audley Freed, and several members of Pearl Jam (Whom Peter met during the production of the film Almost Famous, which he so kindly informed me.)



Fingerprints went on to a great deal of success both commercially and critically as the album received a Grammy in 2007 for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Today, Peter is back hard at work in the studio, pumping out most brilliant rock and roll, and in his spare time, he reads Ask 411 Music. (What, like you thought I was going to pass up one last shot to point that out?!?)

All in all, Peter has had a remarkable career and deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his priceless contributions to the world of rock and roll over the past few decades, and I hope that this generation and all those that follow will recognize his gifts to the artistic community and honor them accordingly.

Class is in Session

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"The long and winding road that leads to your door will never disappear, I've seen that road before. / It always leads me here, lead me to your door.

The wild and windy night that the rain washed away has left a pool of tears crying for the day. / Why leave me standing here? / Let me know the way.

Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried. / Anyway you've always known the many ways I've tried, but still they lead me back to the long, winding road.

You left me waiting here a long, long time ago. / Don't leave me standing here, lead me to your door." – The Long and Winding Road

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Q: Hey Blake,

Oh sweet Iommi, a Sabbath question. Now you've gone and gotten me involved. Must be revenge for those questions in Fact or Fiction. Oh yea, I'm on to you... Seriously though, hate to be a nag because I certainly love Ask 411 and what you've done with the place (are those new drapes?) but one clarification on the Sabbath artists:

Tony Martin's run you listed was his second run with Sabbath, after the much hyped reunion with Dio fell apart. His first run came after Seven Star with Glen Huges/Ray Gillen and lasted from 87 to 91. So the time line is:

Glen Huges: Records Seven Star then is replaced on tour due to a throat injury with Ray Gillen. Glen wanted to due a collaboration with Iommi, and not a Black Sabbath record, so when the label forced the name he made it clear he wouldn't be around for more. Nothing personal though, and Glen and Iommi did collaborate on some hard rock albums in the 90's and 00's under a different name.

Tony Martin: Brought in for the next alum, and stayed for two more. Never released from the band - Just sort of put on "hiatus" (depending on who you ask) when the band decided to reunite with...

Dio: Reunion fever for Dehumanizer. He refuses to front the band later on tour when they decide to open for Ozzfest. So the band brings in...

Ron Halford: Fronts the band for several shows live, and boot-collectors everywhere go into perpetual orgasms...

Tony Martin: Back into the fold for 93 to 97 (the band was officially done in 97 when Iommi disbanded the group after fulfilling his label deal). Just in time for the Ozzy reunion.

There, more Sabbath history than you probably wanted to now. Keep up the great work man!

- Dan Haggerty

P.S. More Sabbath trivia - Who is the unofficial 5th member of Sabbath?

A: Thanks for the correction Dan, though I cannot believe that you caught on to my diabolical plan to get even with you for all of those pop princess questions! My plans have been thwarted.

In all seriousness, thank you for the incredibly kind words and corrected information. Now, as far as your follow up question…

My guess for the unofficial member of Black Sabbath is… Satan. That's right, I am claiming that Lucifer had a heavy hand in the creation of the sound that is Black Sabbath. He spoke the darkness into their souls that poured out into their music, but he was never "officially" in the band since he was never available for band picture day. What can you do? You can only rearrange the schedule for the guy so many times, and if he is not willing to take time off from his other job (the general spread of hatred, ill-will, and reality television) to take a damn picture or two, you just cannot allow him to be a full time part of the band. Don't feel too bad for him… he made his own choice to continue on distributing death and destruction and marrying John Lennon (okay, so maybe the last one was actually Yoko Ono, but still… same difference.) instead of rocking out with Tony Iommi and company. Beelzebub is most definitely the Pete Best of Sabbath.

Joking aside, I believe that the REAL unofficial member of Black Sabbath (For those scoring at home, that is the real, not real member) was pianist/keyboardist Geoff Nicholls who was with the band from about 1979 to possibly as late as 2004. Nicholls, who was a former member of the band Quartz, originally signed up to take over bass guitar duties for Geezer Butler, but when Butler returned soon after, Geoff sidestepped and became the keyboard player, a job that he held on to for approximately 25 years.

My only reservation about using Geoff as my answer is that in some places he seems to be listed as an "official member." If that disqualifies him from contention, then I will revert back to answer numero uno… The Devil.



Q: I imagine as a Beatles fan you're familiar with either the "Dr Ebbetts" or "Purple Chick" stuff...

If you're not, you should look up the names on the web. (Dr Ebbetts is sometimes shortened as DESS)

- Heath

A: Now, I of course would NEVER condone the use of any sort of "bootleg material," but I did think I would go ahead and throw this little bit of information out into the masses purely for educational purposes…

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This week's list…(Insert mental drum roll here)

The Top 7 Songs for Summer

Honorable Mention: "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley, "Under the Boardwalk" by The Drifters, "Summer in the City" by The Lovin' Spoonful, "Wipeout" by The Surfaris, "Surfwax America" by Weezer

7. "Slow Ride" by Foghat – Let me start by saying that it is hard for me to really pinpoint what makes this song so perfect for summer. It doesn't really mention warm weather, the beach, or anything along those lines. I suppose it just strikes a chord with me as it brings up memories of hanging out with friends during the summer, riding around without a care in the world. On one hand, those were the good old days. (Except for the fact that we were always broke and had nothing to do. But why let that stand in the way of the memories?)

6. "The Boys are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy – To me this is the perfect follow up to "Slow Ride," as it chronicles the "boys" triumphant return to their home town to once again be on top of the world alongside their buddies. Add in the fact that I believe that Thin Lizzy is one of the most egregiously underrated bands in rock history and you have an absolute classic. For all of you college students on your way home for the summer vacation, pop in this track and see if you don't get a little emotional.

5. "Santeria" by Sublime – This Long Beach California band's entire discography should be considered mandatory summer listening as the band' signature style featured a mellowed out, reggae infused rock and roll that oozes that warm, summery feeling. This track, off of their self-titled third album captures that sensation just as well, if not better, than all the others. For all of you overachievers, you should check out the band Long Beach Dub All-Stars that featured both Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, the two surviving members of the band, once you have savored all that you can from Sublime's three albums.

4. "Dani California" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers – I may take some heat for picking this track over some other classic Chili Peppers' hits like "Californication" and "Scar Tissue," but this song dominated my CD player two years ago when the album Stadium Arcadium came out. Much like Sublime, most all of RHCP's music can be considered summertime classics in my book, and no matter what the calendar says, it isn't summer until I have driven down the highway with the windows down, blasting Flea and the boys.

3. "Hotel California" by The Eagles – Here is one I am not sure any of you have heard of. Just kidding. This monster classic creates one of the most vivid images conjured up by any song that I can think of. As Don Henley croons on describing ever detail about this haunted hideaway, it is as if I can feel the sunlight glaring down on me from above. While this song is certainly essential listening year around, those first hot days of summer always seem to provide the perfect occasion to dust it off and pop it in.

2. "Surfing U.S.A." by The Beach Boys – It is time for me to come clean and confess. I hold a grudge against The Beach Boys. How is it possible to dislike one of the most beloved acts from the 60's you ask? It is all because of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. A member of The Beach Boys decided that their induction speech was the perfect time to take a shot at The Beatles and Paul McCartney since Sir Paul wasn't able to attend. Taking a shot at The Beatles is a no-no either way, but doing so in an event that was meant to honor them as well was unnecessary. The Beach Boy in question tried to make amends with Ringo… while he was performing on stage. Ringo was having none of it as he was currently mid song… and the other guy was a little on the intoxicated side.

Now, all of that aside, I cannot for a moment deny the outstanding accomplishments of Brian Wilson and the other Beach Boys, and there is no other band out there that can hold a candle to them when it comes to writing songs to fill the summer play list. While many would pick their song "All Summer Long" as a better option, I am going with "Surfing U.S.A." because it is a personal favorite of mine.

I suppose it is time for me to let me grudge go and sit back and enjoy the sweet harmonies. Besides, who can honestly stay mad at The Beach Boys?

1. "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran (among countless others) – This is THE summer track in my humble opinion. (And since it is my column, it is the one that counts!) I am fairly sure that everyone and their dog have performed a cover version of this song at some point or another. I recently read an outstanding quote that really sums up the greatness of this song and all of its versions, though I cannot for the life of me find where I saw it. The gist of the line was that any summertime party should start of with the Eddie Cochran version while the sun is still up, then play the Blue Cheer version later in the evening, and you should finally transition into the classic version by The Who right as the cops are showing up. After all… "There ain't no cure for the summertime blues."

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Forgotten Classic

This week's classic was once called "The greatest country album never made" by U2's Bono. That distinction goes to the album Automatic for the People by R.E.M. This album took the folk sounds featured prominently in the band's early work and gave it a slightly more morose feel. Featuring tracks like "Drive," "Everybody Hurts," and "Man on the Moon," this album helped an entire generation take on issues like mortality, pain, and suicide. "Everybody Hurts" was composed by Michael Stipe due to an alarming spike in teenage suicides. Somewhat ironically, it has been speculated that this album was one of the last ones Kurt Cobain listened to before taking his own life. Cobain, a close friend of Stipe's was looking in to taking Nirvana in a new, more acoustic driven direction as a result of R.E.M.'s influence. On another interesting but entirely unrelated note, all of the string arrangements on the album were done by the legendary John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame.

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Q: Yo Blake I love reading your stuff, I always seem to learn something new when I read your column and as a fellow music freak I love any new info.

But anyway I have a question regarding U2, specifically Bono. I'm not a huge fan of the band but I can appreciate everything they've contributed, but Bono seems to be very controversial in the sense he is either loved or hated. Can you explain to me why he is so hated?

One more question for you, what are your thoughts of Jerry Cantrell? He's an incredibly talented musician who put out phenomenal music with both AIC and as a solo performer.

Thank dude, you ROCK!!!
- Alex J.

A: I must say that I am a little miffed by all of the anti-Bono sentiment myself. Let's see if we can't make some sense out of it by analyzing what I believe to be the three major issues.

1. Bono carries himself with a tremendous amount of confidence. He has been in this industry for a very long time, and has managed to keep his band at the top for a very large portion of that time, which I believe only adds to that confidence. Much of the general public seems to consider that confidence to be arrogance, which may be true, but it is odd that arrogance would be looked at as such a negative for a rock star. Look at all of the big name front men in history, Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Freddie Mercury… each and every one of those guys exudes arrogance, but in their cases it is considered to just be part of their mystique. So, while I think Bono's perceived egotism is a contributing factor to the hatred you speak of, I think there has to be more to it.

2. Bono is the face of a band that is everywhere and has been everywhere for years, and while U2 most certainly has a massive following, the also have a great deal of detractors as well. Let's call this the Tim Duncan theory. Confused? Let me explain. The San Antonio Spurs have been hovering around the top of the basketball world for the last decade plus. In this time, I have never particularly cared for the team, starting off with a mild distaste for them that blossomed into an extreme hatred for them because they would not go away. Now, since I have a problem with team, I now have a problem with the team's star, one Mr. Tim Duncan. By all accounts, Duncan is a decent individual. A tad whinny at times, but he is involved with countless charities around his community and everyone else in the league says he is one of the nicest guys around. That doesn't matter to me. The man could cure cancer, defeat terrorism, and save a baby from a well all in the same day and I am pretty sure I would still be against the guy.

Is this theory ridiculous? Absolutely, but it is tough to like someone, no matter how good of a person they are, when they have been needlessly shoved down your throat as the "greatest ever" for years and years.

3. Finally, I think one of the biggest issues facing the PR department and Bono is the green monster, envy and jealousy. The man has a great deal to be envious of. He has had an outstanding and successful career as one of the world's biggest rock stars, which has undoubtedly brought him more money than most of us will ever see, and that alone would be enough to make the masses jealous.

However, what I believe really makes everyone envious of Bono is that many people feel that he is just flat out a better person than they are. Bono is involved with damn near every charity that there is to be involved with on a high profile level. He is out there making the difference that we all believed that we would make when we were growing up as he spends his days off fighting against world hunger. In contrast, we spend our days off mowing the lawn, going to the mall, or whatever else you guys are out there doing, but regardless of what it is, I doubt we are all making the same impact on a global scale that he is.

Seriously, the man won a Nobel Peace Prize as a freaking rock star. People may argue that he is too preachy or too involved, (Though I do not know how that one is even possible) but I think it boils down to the fact the on some level he makes us all feel as though we have fallen short on some level, and that is a less than wonderful feeling.

As far as Jerry Cantrell goes, I believe that he his one of the most influential guitar players in the grunge movement. I have documented my love for Alice in Chains before, and much of that is because of his brilliant and unique guitar playing. Alice in Chains, led by Jerry, has always provided much of the dirty, gritty sound of alternative, and I am very excited that he and the other guys are back in the studio recording their first album since the passing of front man Layne Staley. Depending on how well the replacement vocalist does, I think it could be a great chance for the band to return to glory and remind everyone of what made them great in the first place.

Keep in mind as well that Cantrell was providing the other half of all of those tight harmonies that contributed to the band's style, which is something that really shines on his solo albums (along with his phenomenal playing). I wish him nothing but the best as I consider him one of the greats in the last few decades and by all accounts he is a pretty nice guy as well.



Q: Glad i could inspire some Creedence Love.

On to the questions for the day

1) I'm a big fan of the chili peppers. A bigger fan of their earlier stuff. Part of the reason behind this is the fact that i don't really know what most of the songs on Californication mean. Could you explain to me what Scar Tissue and Other Side mean. Other Side is one of my favorite songs and i would love to know what it means.

2) There have been a few classic covers in the history of rock. What are your favorites?

3) There aren't really any good rock acts anymore. But there are a few. Foo Fighters are my favorite and the chili peppers still crank out quality stuff. i also like QOTSA and Muse..and Hurt a little bit. I was just wondering if you had any to add to this.

4) Where does the band Electric Mayhem stand in the history of rock?

Thanks for the answers,
- Steveo

A: I am right there with you as a long time fan of the Peppers, and you are correct, deciphering a meaning from some of Anthony Kiedis' lyrics is often a daunting task. Let's take a look at the songs in question…

"Otherside" - There are a lot of theories out there that this song is about drug use, and that the other side is a reference to getting high as an escape from difficult times. I don't really buy into that theory, especially considering that the band had cleaned up their drug use before the recording of this album.

I personally believe that the song is about enduring through the tough times and knowing that one will eventually make it out of the tough times, or to the other side. When you take into account that this album, Californication was a major rebound for the band as they had been on a down turn career wise, and it was also the first since the return of guitarist John Fruscante, as he had been off battling his own addictions.

"Scar Tissue" - I think that the song is actually about loneliness, as each character in the song seems to be dealing with their feelings of abandonment or solitude. There is story that the idea came to Kiedis while he was sitting on a park bench and watching the birds. Hence the central line, "With the birds I'll share this lonely view."



I am going to guess that you meant cover songs and not album covers. If I guessed incorrectly, let me know and I will knock those out for you too. As far as my personal favorites go… (Original artist is in the parenthesis.)

- "All Along The Watch Tower" by Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan)
- "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin (Joan Baez)
- "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton (J.J. Cale)
- "Crossroads" by Cream (Robert Johnson)
- "I Will Survive" by Cake (Gloria Gaynor)
- "Fire" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers (Jimi Hendrix)
- "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes (Otis Redding)
- "Helter Skelter" by Aerosmith (The Beatles)
- "Hurt" by Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
- "I Shot the Sheriff" by Eric Clapton (Bob Marley)
- "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam (Wayne Cochran)
- "Little Wing" by Stevie Ray Vaughn (Jimi Hendrix)
- "Mr. Tambourine Man" by The Byrds (Bob Dylan)
- "No Quarter" by Tool (Led Zeppelin)
- "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by The Animals (Nina Simone)
- "Please Mr. Postman" by The Beatles (The Marvelettes)
- "Respect" by Aretha Franklin (Otis Redding)
- "Tuesday's Gone" by Metallica (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- "The Loco-motion" by Grand Funk (Little Eva)
- "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles (Top Notes)
- "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker (The Beatles)
- "You Really Got Me" by Van Halen (The Kinks)

That list ended up being longer then I intended, and I am sure that as soon as I post this I will think of another few dozen that I should have included, but there is a good starting point anyway.

As far as current rock acts, I am in a similar boat. The ones you mentioned are all great, especially the Foo Fighters, as they are a personal favorite of mine. As far as other recommendations, Papa Roach has some good moments. I also like some of the material from Jet and Wolfmother. 3 Doors Down isn't too bad either. Two years ago I would have told you that there was a little bit of redeeming quality to Maroon 5, but their newest album is the biggest piece of synthesized crap I have ever heard.

If anyone wants to help Steveo and I out by passing along some interesting new bands, drop me a line.

And finally, The Electric Mayhem. I believe the Mayhem to be one of the most important bands in the history of music without a doubt. Who knows where we would be without them? In fact, I have so much respect for them that instead of writing a few lines about them here, I will profile the band an all it's members at the beginning of next week's edition, so come prepared to learn! (Before all of you lose your minds wondering who I am talking about or start sending me hate mail for blasphemy… we are talking about the house band from the Muppet Show.)

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This week's drop of band name knowledge is…

King Crimson - King Crimson is another band that is oft-forgotten these days. They were a true pioneer in the world of progressive rock, and their debut album, In the Court of the King Crimson is still considered to be a landmark record in the genre that broke new ground for artists like Pink Floyd and Yes. The band was also an early vehicle for Greg Lake, later of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. The band was christened by lyricist Peter Sinfield, who selected King Crimson because it was a pseudo name for, you guessed it, Satan. So, in summary, Satan could not have been in Black Sabbath full time, because he was moonlighting with King Crimson at the same time.

See you all back here next week… and send me some freaking questions.

Class Dismissed.