Let’s get a little perspective on this one. In 1968 ex-Yardbird Jeff Beck combined the hitherto unmined talents of vocalist-extraordinaire Rod Stewart with the powerful rhythm section of Ron Wood and Mick Waller and came up with what was, quite simply, in its time, one of the best rock bands in the world. That year they released an astounding first album. Truth. which featured Beck’s flash pyrotechnics on guitar and Stewart’s bluesy abrasives. and made two ovation-filled tours of this country, adding British session pianist Nicky Hopkins to the band for the second. In 1969. all that went to pieces, a function of the old bugaboo, “conflicting musical values.” and Beck’s most reputed vice egomania. First Hopkins left, then Waller was fired and later Wood, and Stewart split soon after. A second album Beck-ola was issued in the summer, an uneven, frustrating record lit by furious bursts of crude energy and occasional brilliance from Beck and Hopkins. Parenthetically, it might be … [Read more...] about Rough And Ready
Why jeff bezos left amazon
The Emancipation of Steven Tyler
F or a moment, Steven Tyler almost runs out of words. He’s standing too close to the edge of a Laurel Canyon cliff, exulting in the panorama of Los Angeles at his feet, the city’s sprawl giving way to white-capped mountains on the horizon. Off to his left, past green hills, a gang of clouds has singled out the HOLLYWOOD sign for a blast of rain. A sharp wind ruffles Tyler’s hair as he takes it all in. A deep breath of cool air, then he resumes the monologue that’s been running since he learned to speak – or, as he puts it, since he was “vaccinated with a phonograph needle.” “It’s all magical,” Tyler says in his excited rasp, pointing out the storm. “Hollywood is crying, because the Oscars are happening tomorrow night – it’s sad to see the year go, but it’s also crying tears of joy, because it’s all going to start all over again.” Tyler means this stuff, all of it, and he can make you buy into it too. He’s in a manic, mystical state of awe and gratitude these days, practically … [Read more...] about The Emancipation of Steven Tyler
Aerosmith’s Amazing Road Back
S teven Tyler enters the hotel room and strips down to his black cracker – a sort of G-string. It’s three in the morning – four hours after Aerosmith wrapped up a show before 37,000 fans at Toronto’s Skydome – and the band’s hyperactive lead singer is back at the Four Seasons Hotel ready to do a little more performing. After contorting himself on the room’s double bed for a few minutes, he finally achieves his desired position: bound and gagged with an attractive female friend of the band’s riding him bareback. Someone turns on a video camera to record the moment for posterity. Tyler’s famous big lips – which rival Mick Jagger ‘s or even Carly Simon ‘s – break into a wide Cheshire-cat grin. Then suddenly his expression turns more serious, and he begins a series of muffled orgasmic squeals. This is, in all likelihood, not the first time that the forty-two-year-old Tyler has found himself in this sort of situation. In fact, to hear Tyler and the other members of Aerosmith … [Read more...] about Aerosmith’s Amazing Road Back