Turntable Tuesday

It’s Turntable Tuesday! This week…The Wallflowers! “Bringing Down the Horse”

September 1, 2020

It’s Turntable Tuesday…because life is too short not to listen to great music! The Wallflowers. Where do I start? Well I think I should start with the guy who manages vocals, guitar, and coolness factor aka Jacob Dylan. Genetically he was delivered from one of the greats and musically he has delivered some incredible music. I don’t have to mention his dad as this guy and his band stand on their own. The Wallflowers totally ROCK. I can’t write much about the Wallflowers that would be refreshing material as there is no need given the background information is only a google search away. My intention here is to tell you about this vinyl album and maybe a personal story from some live music stories I have experienced from watching this band. If you have a few minutes let’s do it!

Once you finish the blog post tune into my companion podcast which you can subscribe to for free on any of your favorite podcast platforms from Apple, Tuned-In Radio, Spotify, Google, or Podbean.

The Wallflowers vinyl on one of my piano stools right before I opened it.

Getting right into the album I want to talk about the background overview for the album. Some tracks were written as long ago as 1990 which puts them at 30 years old as of today. This was the second Wallflowers album and it went…get ready… platinum four times which is unheard of in the music market today. Over four million physical copies of anything sold is an amazing sales number in the music world. The album was released in 1996 having been recorded from 1994-1996. The track “One Headlight” won a Grammy award and two other songs were awarded nominations as well. This is one awesome record. I am really going to stretch out on my podcast and talk about all of the players on this album.

So many great songs. I really put this album in the top of what I never tire of listening to and the live performances are incredible. More on that in a moment.
The band listing from the album.
Produced by T-Bone Burnett all over Los Angeles. The recording fidelity is spot on.
Notes from the album. Leo LeBlanc on pedal steel was suffering from cancer during the recording and died shortly after the recording. The “Bringing Down the Horse” album was dedicated to him. My friend Fred Tackett from Little Feat just celebrated a birthday yesterday as I write this. He is one awesome guitar player but I don’t even need to say that.
This special album is pressed on two discs and sounds great. The first two tracks are among my favorites.
The last time I saw Jacob Dylan live and I hope it is not the last. I have seen the Wallflowers headline and open for Eric Clapton. I can tell you that they can really light up a stage even in front of the likes of EC. This photo was taken at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh on a
warm Summer night.
An impressive list of thanks. There were many greats on this recording from Jackson Browne to Mike Campbell to Benmont Tench and then some.
The back cover of the album
Just a sticker noting some cool tracks.

I really cranked this album up tonight on the turntable. It was awesome. I will tell you a live music story on my podcast if you want to listen in. In the meantime I want to ask you…”WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO TONIGHT?” Are you listening to your favorite artist? Are you cranking up something cool? Tell us about it! There is a Facebook group! Write it down and crank it up! Turn that TV OFF! Tune out the bad news and create a positive vibe by listening to your favorite tracks! Meanwhile support live music and your favorite artists. Life is short, live now.

Just before I go…here is one of my favorite YouTube videos that captures an incredible David Letterman performance I like better than the official video…This is closer to what it feels like to hear this music live. I hope you enjoy it.

Until next time, I’ll see you, down the road.

David Letterman had some incredible live music on his show. This video is one of the best.