STEVE GOODMAN
''THE BEST OF THE ASYLUM YEARS VOLUME TWO''
1989
45:42
1 /This Hotel Room
Steve Goodman/3:37
2 /Bobby Don't Stop
Steve Goodman / Bill LaBounty/3:45
3 /Men Who Love Women Who Love Men
Steve Goodman/3:28
4 /That's What Friends Are For
Steve Burgh / Steve Goodman / Jeff Gutcheon / Jim Rothermel/4:14
5 /Just Lucky I Guess
Steve Goodman/3:40
6 /My Old Man
Steve Goodman/4:10
7 /Video Tape
Steve Goodman/3:16
8 /Danger
Steve Goodman / Mike Smith/3:46
9 /Door Number Three
Jimmy Buffett / Steve Goodman/3:41
10 /I Can't Sleep
Steve Goodman/3:58
11 /You Can Turn to Me
Peter Bunetta / Rick Chudacoff / Steve Goodman / Arno Lucas/3:14
12 /Spoon River
Michael Peter Smith / Mike Smith/4:53
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
Steve Goodman recorded five albums for Asylum Records between 1975 and 1980, and they were all out of print by 1988 when his own label, Red Pajamas Records, licensed some of the tracks for The Best of the Asylum Years, Vol. 1. (Subsequently, Red Pajamas licensed the albums themselves.) A second volume was always in the plans, and between the two discs, more than 40 percent of Goodman's Asylum output is covered. It is important to note that the best of the Asylum years is not the same thing as the best of Steve Goodman, who recorded some of his best-known songs, including "City of New Orleans" and "You Never Even Call Me by My Name," for Buddah Records before joining Asylum. The resources of the larger label gave him the ability to indulge his eclectic tastes, but the affiliation also implied greater commercial demands, and Goodman's Asylum recordings are full of attempts to meet the marketplace, along with his characteristic musical playfulness. Thus, the New Orleans jazz arrangement of "This Hotel Room," which leads off the disc, gives way to the adult contemporary soul-pop of "Bobby Don't Stop," followed by a typical Goodman novelty lyric, "Men Who Love Women Who Love Men," which is set to a near-disco track. That's one song that was missed on the first volume, as were the heartfelt "My Old Man" and a co-songwriting effort with Jimmy Buffett, "Door Number Three," which manages to combine the TV game show Let's Make a Deal with a quote from "Like a Rolling Stone." Taken together, the two discs of The Best of the Asylum Years fulfill their title, even if the Asylum years are only a part of Steve Goodman's recorded legacy.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
Growing up in what he called "a Midwestern middle-class Jewish family," Steve Goodman began playing the guitar as a teenager. He was influenced by the folk revival of the early '60s and by country performers such as Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. After attending college in the mid-'60s, he turned to playing in Chicago clubs by night and writing commercial jingles by day. In 1971, he opened for Kris Kristofferson and was seen by Paul Anka, who financed demo recordings that led to a contract with Buddah Records and the release of Steve Goodman, which featured his train song "The City of New Orleans," a Top 40 hit for Arlo Guthrie in 1972 and now a folk standard. Goodman made a second album for Buddah, Somebody Else's Troubles (1973), then broke with the label, which went on to issue an outtakes record, The Essential Steve Goodman (1975). Goodman moved to the singer/songwriter-oriented West Coast label Asylum for his first charting album Jessie's Jig & Other Favorites in 1975, the same year that outlaw country singer David Allen Coe made the Top Ten of the country charts with a cover of his "You Never Even Called Me by My Name" from the Steve Goodman album. Goodman's subsequent Asylum albums were Words We Can Dance To (April 1976) (featuring "Banana Republics," popularized by Jimmy Buffett), Say It in Private (October 1977), High and Outside (February 1979), and Hot Spot (1980). None became a major commercial success, but Goodman established himself on the national club and festival circuits, frequently appearing with mandolin player Jethro Burns, formerly of the country duo Homer & Jethro. Goodman turned record producer for his friend and fellow Chicagoan John Prine on Prine's 1978 album Bruised Orange. In 1983, Goodman followed Prine in establishing his own independent label, Red Pajamas, which released the live Artistic Hair and Affordable Art (1984). Goodman died of leukemia after battling the disease for many years. Red Pajamas released Santa Ana Winds (1984) posthumously, as well as a double-disc LP drawn from a concert in his memory, A Tribute to Steve Goodman, which featured John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, and others. After a second posthumous release, Unfinished Business, Red Pajamas licensed the Asylum material and put out two Best of the Asylum Years compilations.
''THE BEST OF THE ASYLUM YEARS VOLUME TWO''
1989
45:42
1 /This Hotel Room
Steve Goodman/3:37
2 /Bobby Don't Stop
Steve Goodman / Bill LaBounty/3:45
3 /Men Who Love Women Who Love Men
Steve Goodman/3:28
4 /That's What Friends Are For
Steve Burgh / Steve Goodman / Jeff Gutcheon / Jim Rothermel/4:14
5 /Just Lucky I Guess
Steve Goodman/3:40
6 /My Old Man
Steve Goodman/4:10
7 /Video Tape
Steve Goodman/3:16
8 /Danger
Steve Goodman / Mike Smith/3:46
9 /Door Number Three
Jimmy Buffett / Steve Goodman/3:41
10 /I Can't Sleep
Steve Goodman/3:58
11 /You Can Turn to Me
Peter Bunetta / Rick Chudacoff / Steve Goodman / Arno Lucas/3:14
12 /Spoon River
Michael Peter Smith / Mike Smith/4:53
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
Steve Goodman recorded five albums for Asylum Records between 1975 and 1980, and they were all out of print by 1988 when his own label, Red Pajamas Records, licensed some of the tracks for The Best of the Asylum Years, Vol. 1. (Subsequently, Red Pajamas licensed the albums themselves.) A second volume was always in the plans, and between the two discs, more than 40 percent of Goodman's Asylum output is covered. It is important to note that the best of the Asylum years is not the same thing as the best of Steve Goodman, who recorded some of his best-known songs, including "City of New Orleans" and "You Never Even Call Me by My Name," for Buddah Records before joining Asylum. The resources of the larger label gave him the ability to indulge his eclectic tastes, but the affiliation also implied greater commercial demands, and Goodman's Asylum recordings are full of attempts to meet the marketplace, along with his characteristic musical playfulness. Thus, the New Orleans jazz arrangement of "This Hotel Room," which leads off the disc, gives way to the adult contemporary soul-pop of "Bobby Don't Stop," followed by a typical Goodman novelty lyric, "Men Who Love Women Who Love Men," which is set to a near-disco track. That's one song that was missed on the first volume, as were the heartfelt "My Old Man" and a co-songwriting effort with Jimmy Buffett, "Door Number Three," which manages to combine the TV game show Let's Make a Deal with a quote from "Like a Rolling Stone." Taken together, the two discs of The Best of the Asylum Years fulfill their title, even if the Asylum years are only a part of Steve Goodman's recorded legacy.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
Growing up in what he called "a Midwestern middle-class Jewish family," Steve Goodman began playing the guitar as a teenager. He was influenced by the folk revival of the early '60s and by country performers such as Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. After attending college in the mid-'60s, he turned to playing in Chicago clubs by night and writing commercial jingles by day. In 1971, he opened for Kris Kristofferson and was seen by Paul Anka, who financed demo recordings that led to a contract with Buddah Records and the release of Steve Goodman, which featured his train song "The City of New Orleans," a Top 40 hit for Arlo Guthrie in 1972 and now a folk standard. Goodman made a second album for Buddah, Somebody Else's Troubles (1973), then broke with the label, which went on to issue an outtakes record, The Essential Steve Goodman (1975). Goodman moved to the singer/songwriter-oriented West Coast label Asylum for his first charting album Jessie's Jig & Other Favorites in 1975, the same year that outlaw country singer David Allen Coe made the Top Ten of the country charts with a cover of his "You Never Even Called Me by My Name" from the Steve Goodman album. Goodman's subsequent Asylum albums were Words We Can Dance To (April 1976) (featuring "Banana Republics," popularized by Jimmy Buffett), Say It in Private (October 1977), High and Outside (February 1979), and Hot Spot (1980). None became a major commercial success, but Goodman established himself on the national club and festival circuits, frequently appearing with mandolin player Jethro Burns, formerly of the country duo Homer & Jethro. Goodman turned record producer for his friend and fellow Chicagoan John Prine on Prine's 1978 album Bruised Orange. In 1983, Goodman followed Prine in establishing his own independent label, Red Pajamas, which released the live Artistic Hair and Affordable Art (1984). Goodman died of leukemia after battling the disease for many years. Red Pajamas released Santa Ana Winds (1984) posthumously, as well as a double-disc LP drawn from a concert in his memory, A Tribute to Steve Goodman, which featured John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, and others. After a second posthumous release, Unfinished Business, Red Pajamas licensed the Asylum material and put out two Best of the Asylum Years compilations.
No comments :
Post a Comment