April reviews and mixtape: New Black Crowes album, The Heritage and more

I saw Marrakesh Express and Think Floyd USA live, plus thoughts on lots of new music and remembering Bob Heil

Cousin Matt and I at the Castle Theater in Bloomington for Think Floyd USA, a really good Pink Floyd tribute act.

I attended two shows this month — both tributes — plus have tons of other stuff to talk about including new music I’m listening to, a book review and a quick goodbye to a behind-the-scenes music legend.

CONCERTS

Marrakesh Express, Decatur Civic Center

Marrakesh Express at the Decatur Civic Center.

My mom and I first saw Marrakesh Express as part of a double headliner with The Steepwater Band in Griffith, Ind., in January. I hadn’t really planned on seeing them again two months later, but when they announced they were coming to Decatur, I felt like it was important to support that effort.

But after a long, cold day at the baseball field watching my son’s games and an annoying trip to Wal-Mart, I was feeling more like going home to watch the Illini NCAA Tournament game from the couch than conjuring the energy for a concert.

Marrakesh kicked off with what I’d thought was the highlight of the show in Griffith, “Almost Cut My Hair,” but it didn’t quite pack the same punch serving as the opener. But by song three, Neil Young’s “Old Man,” the magic of live music had lifted my spirit.

But it was the next song that, surprisingly, was the highlight of the night. If they played “Southern Cross” in Griffith, I didn’t remember it. I knew the song and had always thought it was catchy, but had never really listened to the lyrics or paid a ton of attention to it. This rendition caused me to stand up and take notice.

The rest of the show was a lot of fun — they’re a great band and do a mix of CSN&Y group and solo tunes. Mom and I were glad we decided to catch them again. This was my first time seeing a concert at the Decatur Civic Center and, though the crowd wasn’t huge, it was enthusiastic and the sound in the venue was good. I’ll see more shows there.

When I got home from the concert, “Southern Cross” stuck with me. I looked up the lyrics and, as someone who has been through a divorce, they struck a chord — I’d been on that boat before. I loved the idea of Stephen Stills out there sailing on this ship, seeing the “Southern Cross,” or Crux constellation, writing down what he was feeling and turning it into this beautiful song about moving on from divorce.

But when I listened to the studio version … it didn’t land the same. The song was recorded in 1981 and has a heavy 80s studio sheen. I don’t hate it, but it sent me trying to find a good live version. A couple exist from Crosby, Stills & Nash, and there’s a solid Jimmy Buffet version, but I have to say … I think Marrakesh Express does the definitive version of that song — at least that I’ve heard.

— with Mom, March 23

Think Floyd USA, Castle Theater, Bloomington

Think Floyd performing at the Castle Theater.

Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands, but there are eras I avoid — mainly the Syd Barrett era, but also most of the 1990s stuff. With the Pulse tour in support of The Division Bell album celebrating its 30th anniversary, Think Floyd performed much of that setlist. The good? They opened with a faithful version of one of my all-time favorite songs, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and the second set was the entirety of Dark Side of the Moon, with an encore of “Wish You Were Here,” “Comfortably Numb” and “Run Like Hell.” The bad? A stretch of what seemed like way too many Division Bell songs.

But I respect the effort to keep things fresh — why completely ignore any era as a tribute band? And while the songs weren’t my favorites, the performance of those songs and commitment to a setlist made it worthwhile.

The band had no weak spots. Bass player and singer Andy Bunk held down the Roger Waters parts, Eric Davies was able to replicate that perfect David Gilmour tone on guitar and band founder Kyle Stong was spot-on with Rick Wright’s keyboard parts. Backup singer Nicky von Kondrat provided the highlight of the night with her passionate solo on the classic “Great Gig in the Sky.”

Think Floyd’s Nicky von Kondrat performing at the Castle Theater.

Overall, this continued my run of seeing really good tribute acts. It was Matt’s first time visiting the Castle Theater, and he was also impressed with the atmosphere, abundant parking and also the quality of the performance. That was my fifth show there and I’ve yet to see a bad show or have a bad view.

— with cousin Matt, March 30

ALBUMS

There will always be more new music than I could ever listen to, so I listen to what I know and what’s recommended to me. Here are five new albums released in 2024 I’ve been listening to:

Ruining My Misery, The Heritage

The Heritage is the brainchild of Bryan McClenning, a New Haven, Connecticut, native now living in Atlanta, Georgia, along with Allison Hopkins, of Washington, Georgia. The two performed in a cover band together called “Shotgun Angel,” and began performing duets that sparked McClenning’s idea for the two to do an album of original material featuring their harmonies.

Eventually, they wrote the song “Ernesto” together, and that’s the standout song on their first album, Ruining My Misery. On “Ernesto,” Hopkins shines and McClenning provides some silky background vocals and a tasty acoustic riff . They have a sound that fits well on acoustic songs, and there are plenty of those. But they can also rock, with “Thought My Reasons Were Right” a highlight, featuring some nice slide by “Turbo” Tim Butler, and also “No More Heart to Steal,” with a nasty guitar tone by McClenning and a sweet solo. The lyrics throughout the album show depth and there are plenty of fun turns of phrases.

The album is out on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and other streaming services as of Tuesday. To order a vinyl copy, go to theheritageband.hearnow.com.

I was approached through my connection to the State of Amorica podcast to review this album and was pleasantly surprised. I want to throw a nod of respect to McClenning for reaching out to someone he didn’t know and never asking for anything other than a listen and a review. Putting your art out there is scary enough. Asking someone to review it critically takes a lot of guts.

On my end, anything I can do to help a grassroots effort for an unknown band making great music, I’m going to try. I don’t have many readers yet, but if someone who reads me likes what they hear and spreads the word, that’s how it begins.

If you’re reading this and you’ve made some music you want me to review, please send it my way. But you’re going to have a tough act to follow in The Heritage.

Black Crowes, Happiness Bastards

The first full Crowes studio album in 15 years features 10 songs that explore new territory but play to the strengths of Robinson brothers — Chris’ soulful vocal delivery and Rich’s memorable guitar riffs.

Happiness Bastards isn’t at the level of the classic Crowes albums, but it continues a career of never having released a bad album. It’s no shame to be the Crowes’ worst album, and Happiness Bastards is better than that.

I like nine of the 10 songs, but my main complaint is it’s too short — only 39 minutes. On the Crowes’ classic material, the songs are allowed to breathe and build.

The album has been fairly well-met by Crowes fans, but there are two divisive songs. The State of Amorica podcast hosts all three called “Cross Your Fingers” the album’s “miss,” but it’s one of my favorites, if not my favorite on the album. They all liked “Flesh Wound,” which has its moments, but I bet they left better songs on the cutting room floor.

But even if “Flesh Wound” isn’t my favorite song, or I completely understand where the SOA guys are coming from with the drum-programmed part of the chorus in “Cross Your Fingers,” I do like that the Crowes have continued their tradition of exploring and taking chances. It does seem like whatever the style of song, the Robinsons can put their own brand on it.

When I first saw the artwork for this album I thought it was terrible, but once I got the actual vinyl album in the mail, I changed my mind. I like the homage to the old records by painting over the top of them, and it looks unique. And I love the idea of the Robinson brothers, after their years of discontent, are “happiness bastards.” When you open the gatefold, the left side says “Trust Us,” and the right says, “Never Trust Us” — fun and self-deprecating.

Be Right Here, Blackberry Smoke

I gave some thoughts on this album during my March reviews, but thought I’d dive in further since I think it’s the best album I’ve heard so far in 2024. There isn’t a bad song on it. It succeeds in all the ways Blackberry Smoke albums always succeed, but takes it to a new level lyrically on some of the songs.

The album isn’t perfect. Where the Black Crowes rarely fall into the tried-and-true, Blackberry Smoke leans into it. Most of the time, because they add their own style, sense of humor, or interesting take, it works.

I’d argue that’s why it’s important to live with Blackberry Smoke songs for awhile. Many of their songs, at first listen, sounds familiar — like it’s been done. That’s by design and the band doesn’t apologize for that. It’s only when you get to know the songs that you get the feel for what makes all of them uniquely Blackberry Smoke.

The one song, though, that still feels a little tired to me is “Hammer and the Nail.”

All the songs hang on well-worn tropes that Blackberry Smoke has touched on throughout their career — living in the moment and focusing on the things that are important (your loved ones). “Azalea,” for one, takes those tropes to a new place.

This isn’t Blackberry Smoke’s best album, but it might be top three. That it’s the last album Brit Turner will appear will always make Be Right Here notable, but I hope that’s not its legacy. This is a strong addition to the BBS catalogue, with several songs — “Azalea” and “Little Bit Crazy,” in particular — that feel like permanent additions to the live show.

Olustee, JJ Grey & Mofro

This is the first album from JJ Grey & Mofro in nine years and delivers on what you’d expect from this soulful, gritty band from Jacksonville, Florida.

It’s always been hard to pigeonhole JJ Grey & Mofro into a genre, so I won’t try (but if I had to, I’d say southern blue-eyed soul). There are a lot of southern influences and a really tight band with a full sound as the atmosphere for Grey’s big, soulful voice that sounds better than ever after 25-plus years.

Like the Crowes, JJ Grey & Mofro aren’t afraid to go into some different directions. On this album, most of them work — “Rooster” is the song that probably takes it a step too far for me. “The Sea” is a weird for an opener, but a great song — I’d have liked it as the album closer. “Top of the World” is classic Grey and among the highlights of the album. The John Anderson song “Seminole Wind” is oft-covered, but never better than this — it feels like it was written for this band, which stretches it out a little more than other versions to make it truly memorable. And its message is needed even more in 2024 than it was in 1992.

COWBOY CARTER, Beyonce

I never thought I’d be reviewing a Beyoncé album, but some things I read about it caught my attention and made me want to check it out.

The main thing was this quote from Beyoncé: “The more I see the world evolving the more I felt a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments, and I used very old ones. I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune. I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk.”

Whether you like Beyoncé or not, or whether you like COWBOY CARTER or not, a desire from one of the most popular stars in the world to make music using actual instruments and not a computer is a step in the right direction for the industry.

And, it comes through in the songs. There are some good musical moments. And Beyonce has a wonderful voice. But there’s a lot of vocal overproduction on these songs. Why, when you have that unique, powerful voice, and you’ve made an effort to have more live-sounding music, would you want vocal harmonies that sound almost computerized? And if you’re going to use old instruments, let’s hear them — let that music coming from those instruments breathe a little.

If you’re looking for an actual country or folk album, this isn’t it. It’s a Beyonce album with some folk and country influences.

But, there are plenty of highlights — TEXAS HOLD ‘EM, ALLIIGATOR TEARS and BODYGUARD are my favorites.

There’s an hour and 19 minutes of material on this album — exactly twice as long as Happiness Bastards. I think there’s a happy medium somewhere. The interludes are fun and a throwback to the CD era, but the song that introduces the album (AMERIICAN REQUIEM) and SPAGHETTII are part of what’s definitely a cuttable 20 minutes.

But I’m not exactly a Beyonce fan. My wife Liz is. Here’s what she had to say:

“COWBOY CARTER isn’t my favorite Beyoncé album, at least not yet. It’s only been out a few days so that could change.

It’s absolutely unexpected, and I love that for Bey. I love that she’s at a point in her career where she can make whatever music she wants to — I wish all artists had this liberty.

I grew up listening to all different types of music, mostly because we almost always listened to a top 40 radio station, Mix 94.5, in the car. But R&B will always be my favorite. COWBOY CARTER is not that.

It’s so hard to describe what it is, really. It feels like an amalgamation of that radio station from my childhood. From BLACKBIIRD, her rendition of my favorite Beatles’ song, to ALLIIGATOR TEARS, which gives me strong “The Chain” vibes, to BODYGUARD’s Prince-esque melody and guitar solo, to my current favorite song on the album “II MOST WANTED,” her definitely modern country duet with Miley Cyrus — I’m here for the journey it takes me on.

And I love that because the album isn’t one genre in particular, it’s going to open up a whole new world of music to Beyoncé fans who didn’t grow up listening to Mix 94.5 like I did.

And the icing on the cake is that Justin and I now have some Beyoncé songs that we can listen to together. I can’t help but think that that was probably one of the Queen’s goals — bringing folks together through music.”

BOOKS

Rolling With the Stones, Bill Wyman

This book provides a great base of the history of the band and is an interesting look through the eyes of packrat Wyman.

It’s visually stunning and fun to look at, but at times the presentation was treated as more important than being able to read the actual words on the page. At nearly 50, I can somehow still read pretty well without reading glasses and in low light, but I had to get my flashlight out for some of this.

The book is exhaustingly thorough in the early years, then less so as the years go by, but in this case it felt merciful. Musically, to my ears, the first four years of Rolling Stones music is pretty meh — it’s not until 1968 that the Stones REALLY become the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world. But the band caught some of the wave of craziness that overtook the girls of the 1960s during Beatlemania, where live shows couldn’t be heard over screaming and mobs would overtake the stage with violent intent. That seemed to end right at the dawn of the sexual revolution …

After reading “Life,” Keith Richards’ amazing biography, seeing Richards’ drug-filled 1970s lifestyle through Wyman’s eyes offered an interesting perspective. Wyman was never a hard partier — his weakness was women, though that’s only touched on in this book. Wyman’s annoyance with Richards is abundantly clear. Take a drink every time Wyman writes some form of, “But Keith didn’t show,” or, “Keith showed up late and wasted.”

The other part of the book that stood out was how long the band’s money trouble with Allen Klein lasted — he basically controlled all of the Rolling Stones’ money between 1965 and 1970. The band members would have to ask for money for any major purchase, and sometimes the band’s bills would go unpaid. Even after they broke with Klein, he held onto ownership of much of the Stones’ early catalogue.

Overall, I’d say treating this book like a coffee table book rather than a reader is the right approach, though if you’re wanting a general overview of the Stones’ career, this does the trick. I may try “Stone Alone” — Wyman’s actual autobiography — in the near future.

TRIBUTE

Bob Heil, 1940-2024

I never met Bob Heil, but wish I had — I’d wanted to ever since I first heard about him from his daughter, Julie Staley (a Central Illinois TV personality and filmmaker I worked with on “Fields of Joy,” the A.E. Staley documentary that’s been showing in select theaters). Heil died at age 83 on Feb. 28 — but not before leaving his mark on the world of music.

Heil began his career as an organ musician. At the age of 15, he became a professional performer on the Wurlitzer theater organ at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, where he played for most of his life.

Heil opened Ye Olde Music Shop shop in Marissa, Illinois, which ultimately became Heil Sound. He become famous in the music world when, after designing an impromptu sound system for the Grateful Dead at the Fabulous Fox in February of 1970, the Dead asked him to join the band on the road and design their sound system. He later joined the Who for their Who’s Next tour in 1971.

Heil cemented his legacy in the word of rock music when he invented the Heil Talk Box, which has been used by Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh and hundreds of other guitarists. The first Heil Talk Box was built for Frampton’s girlfriend to give to him as a Christmas present in 1974, and it can be heard prominently on the famous Frampton Comes Alive album from 1976.

And if that’s not enough, Heil was also a global innovator in the fields of amateur radio, manufacturing headsets, microphones, equalizers, and accessories, and was also a player in the home theater movement of the late 1980s.

Check out this post from Walsh’s Facebook page:

MIX TAPE

Here’s this month’s accompanying playlist. Here’s the link on Apple Music and the link on Spotify, and for my mom who complained last month she didn’t have Apple Music or Spotify, the link on YouTube.

1. Southern Cross — Crosby, Stills & Nash

   “… and music is her name!” Hell yeah!

2. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5 — Pink Floyd

   “Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner and shine.”

3. The Great Gig in the Sky — Pink Floyd

   Clare Torry with one of the great recorded vocals of all time.

4. Comfortably Numb — Pink Floyd

   Those solos …

5. Cross Your Fingers — The Black Crowes

   I like everything about this song, from the gorgeous opening, to that huge riff, to that catchy chorus, and the breakdown at the end when the female singers are dropping in the occasional, “Cross your fingers” and it sound badass.

6. Wilted Rose — The Black Crowes featuring Lainey Wilson

   Chris Robinson can still sing! I like Wilson’s understated contribution.

7. Bleed It Dry — The Black Crowes

   Very Stonesey and just a lot of fun.

8. Flesh Wound — The Black Crowes

   It’s not all bad, but I feel like Ross and Rachel are about to show up. Also, that weird background singing at the end …

9. Azalea — Blackberry Smoke

   Just a beautiful, mature song.

10. Little Bit Crazy — Blackberry Smoke

    When the Black Betty’s are singing “Got me moving … got, got me moving” …

11. Other Side of the Light — Blackberry Smoke

    Another example of the songwriting growth.

12. Ernesto — The Heritage

    Beautiful song and performances. I hear a little Sheryl Crow in Hopkins’ voice.

13. No More Heart to Steal — The Heritage

    Love that guitar tone.

14. The Sea — JJ Grey & Mofro

    Grey’s voice is pretty special.

15. Top of the World — JJ Grey & Mofro

    This is just classic Mofro.

16. Seminole Wind — JJ Grey & Mofro

    “Blow, blow, blow from Okeechobee all the way north to Micanopy.”

17. BODYGUARD — Beyoncé

    This has to be a Prince tribute. Even the guitar tone.

18. ALLIIGATOR TEARS — Beyoncé

    I’m digging that country backbeat.

19. Jumpin’ Jack Flash — The Rolling Stones

    The first song the Stones released in 1968 set the tone for the rest of the band’s career. The lyrics are dated now, but that riff ...

20. No Expectations — The Rolling Stones

    What a gorgeous, heartbreaking song from their first great album, Beggars Banquet.

21. Live With Me — The Rolling Stones

    Badass tune from Let it Bleed.

22. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking — The Rolling Stones

    A jam from their best album, Sticky Fingers.

23. All Down the Line — The Rolling Stones

    Everything that’s great about Exile on Main Street.

24. Silver Train — The Rolling Stones

    Goat Head Soup is underrated. This is a good one.

25. If You Can’t Rock Me — The Rolling Stones

    Classic nasty Stones from It’s Only Rock n’ Roll.

26. Memory Motel — The Rolling Stones

    This shouldn’t be good, but it is. A standout from Black and Blue, which is weakest album of the Stones’ classic era.

27. Respectable — The Rolling Stones

    They were swinging for the fences on Some Girls.

28. Slave — The Rolling Stones

    Holy crap … that riff. A great song on the last great Stones record, Tattoo You.

29. Rocky Mountain Way — Joe Walsh

30. Show Me the Way — Peter Frampton

    These two songs are the most famous uses of the Heil Talk Box.

COMING UP

I’ll have a post soon (in the next couple weeks) based on some of the readers’ responses I received. Also, I made my co-hosting debut on the State of Amorica podcast talking about The Steepwater Band catalogue and will share that link when it’s released. Then, next month will be concert-review-heavy with Blackberry Smoke in St. Louis, the Black Crowes in Chicago and JJ Grey & Mofro in Bloomington — again at the Castle — and also Mick Wall’s Eagles biography, “Life in the Fast Lane.”