Musical Treats: Re-issues from Traveling Wilburys and Elvis Costello & The Attractions

The past two months have literally brought music to my ears in the form of re-issues of music from the Traveling Wilburys and from Elvis Costello & The Attractions. What treats!!!

The Traveling Wilburys – George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn and Bob Dylan (along with drummer Jim Keltner) recorded a couple of albums in the mid to late 1980s. The fact that they worked under assumed names and just sort of fell together by accident gave the venture a casualness that readily translated to the music. They weren't out to impress anyone; they just wanted to make some music together. And it was great!

Just after the first album was released, Roy Orbison died. The group put out a second album (called Volume 3), then went dormant. The music went out of print.

George Harrison died in 2001 and, according to accounts, he had led the group by handling the business end of the operation (which was pretty complicated since all the musicians were on different record labels).

For some reason, I'd been looking for their music in recent months — though, it wasn't exactly a quest. I check on iTunes periodically, to no avail. Occasional trips to the music section at Barnes & Noble were equally unproductive. Until, I saw this story on CNN.com a couple of days ago!

Rhino Music put together the CD version of the release of the two Wilbury albums as well as DVD versions that include videos of a few of the band's songs.

What a great company Rhino is!!! It was their re-issue of Get Happy!! (which included 30 — count 'em, 30! — bonus tracks) that a few months ago renewed my appreciation for just how great Elvis Costello & The Attractions were (when he plays with The Imposters these days, it's The Attractions with a different bassist).

That release, purchased at Barnes & Noble, sent me on a quest for a digital version of one of the great rock recordings of all time: Elvis Costello & The Attractions' version of Nick Lowe's (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding. Again, this was not available in its original version on iTunes or any other (legal) online service. Until last month, when digital versions of remastered early recordings from the band were re-issued by Hip-O/Universal Music Enterprises.

Well, it's all there now!

Costello's lyrics and word-play have always been his strength, regardless of the style of music he's produced. But, what comes crashing through these recordings is just how powerful a band The Attractions were. With Costello playing guitar, it's a four-piece band. The Thomas brothers provide the rhythm section. Pete Thomas is, in Costello's estimation, the best rock drummer of all time. The band's induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame revealed that Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas didn't get along well. Bruce Thomas, in fact, did not play during the live set that was part of their induction into the Hall.

But, for my money, the most distinctive player in the band is keyboardist Steve Nieve (pronounced Ny-eve). His mastery of the keyboards gives those early albums their distinctive sound. His work on the Hammond B3 with Costello and Allen Toussaint on The River In Reverse demonstrates a versatility and a feel for New Orleans music that is rare even among locals. The way Nieve's playing complements and blends with Toussaint's piano work is what makes that album so moving — in every sense of the word! He's got a website, which includes a blog.

How can anyone listen to "Tears, Tears and More Tears" and not dance? That song is part of three successive cuts on the album that constitute the irresistible core of the album. "Tears" is a Toussaint original. It is followed by Costello's "The Sharpest Thorn" which is followed by Toussaint's "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" in which Toussaint makes his first vocal appearance on the album.

Back to the Costello re-issues: I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I once owned the vinyl versions of most of these re-issues. "Imperial Bedroom" is a lush recording where Nieve's piano work gives the album a polish not common in recordings of any kind. "Armed Forces" has the same sonic qualities, although the lyrics focus on more topical subjects. There's a "Best Of — The First 10 Years" that provides a decent (though too small) sampling of the first decade of Costello's work.

It's instances like this, though, that the ability to buy singles that iTunes provides really comes in handy. Go ahead! Roam around the catalog; sample the singles from Costello & The Attractions as well as The Traveling Wilburys. Bet you can't buy just one!

Senate Republicans Defend Corruption of the Justice Department

Senate Republicans, including Louisiana's David Vitter, blocked an attempt by 53 other senators to vote that they had lost confidence that the disgraced, incompetent, law-breaking rule of the U.S. Department of Justice by political hack Alberto Gonzales.

I called the offices of Senator Vitter and Senator Landrieu today to express my support for the no confidence measure.

The call to Landrieu's office was first. Starting with my name and the city in which I live, I explained to the person who took the call, that I was calling to urge Senator Landrieu to vote in favor of the no confidence measure. When I finished talking, the person taking the call thanked me and hung up.

The call to Vitter's office was pretty similar, with the exception that after I stated my intentions, the person on the phone asked for my address.

Vitter's office gets points for their handling of the call, but Landrieu wins on the merits of her vote.

Vitter is supposed to be a smart guy (Rhodes Scholar and all that), but he's been swimming close to the Republican corruption since he first became a member of Congress (I'd like to know more about his dealings with Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff).

This vote indicates that Vitter puts partisanship above the rule of law and the Constitution. Still, he tries to get away with positioning himself as a conservative. This is a sure indication that he thinks we're all idiots.

Warner Music Group attacks Apple's DRM-free music?

A couple of months ago, I found AOL's webcast of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at their site. More importantly (to me, anyway) I also found archives of earlier inductions — including Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

Included in the list of archived footage was a clip of Costello and the Attractions playing Nick Lowe's "What's so Funny About Peace Love and Understanding."

I'd periodically returned to that page to view the clip since then.

I went back tonight, clicked on the link and the page loaded, but included this message: "We're sorry, content protected by Digital Rights Management is not available on the Macintosh."

Could this be the Warner Music Group's revenge against Apple's DRM-Free music?

Any word of other sites engaging in this kind of behavior?