STEVE GOODMAN
''UNFINISHED BUSINESS''
1987
36:31
1 /Whispering Man
Steve Goodman / Mixmaster Michael Smith/4:10
2 /Mind Over Matter
Steve Goodman/2:51
3 /God Bless Our Mobile Home
Steve Goodman/4:13
4 /Millie Make Some Chili
Russell Brown / Russell E. Brown / William P McCord / Billy Vera/3:06
5 /In Real Life
Steve Goodman / Bill LaBounty/3:40
6 /(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I
Hank Snow / Bill Trader/2:49
7 /Don't Get Sand in It
Steve Goodman / Sean Kelly/2:56
8 /The Dutchman
Michael Peter Smith/5:10
9 /Colorado Christmas
Steve Goodman/4:11
10 /My Funny Valentine
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers/3:18
Jeff Baxter /Guitar (Electric)
Robert Bowker /Vocals (Background)
Peter Bunetta /Arranger, Drums, Percussion, Producer
Jethro Burns /Mandolin
Brad Buxer /Drum Programming, Drums, Synthesizer
Rick Chudacoff /Arranger, Bass, Producer
Mark Colby /Saxophone
Bill Elliott /Keyboards
Steve Goodman /Guitar (Acoustic), Mandola, Mandolin, Vocals
Bonnie Herman /Vocals (Background)
Vicki Hubly /Vocals (Background)
Howard Levy /Harmonica
Ron Murray /Bass
Mitch Perry /Guitar (Electric)
Joe Pusateri /Drums, Percussion
The Radiators /Vocals (Background)
Bob Rans /Piano, Synclavier
Brian Ray /Guitar (Electric)
Steve Rodby /Bass, Bass (Upright)
Jim Rothermel /Saxophone
Bill Ruppert /Guitar (Electric)
Leslie Smith /Vocals (Background)
Michael Peter Smith /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
Tim Stone /Vocals (Background)
Jim Tullio /Percussion
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
Although Steve Goodman's album Santa Ana Winds was, technically, a posthumous release, it was so polished an effort and appeared so soon after his death in September 1984 that it seemingly must have been in the can before his final illness. Unfinished Business, however, appearing three years later, clearly was a collection of previously unreleased archival recordings that had been assembled as an LP. Yet it was not all that different from most Goodman albums. During his lifetime, Goodman liked to put together collections that traced the range of his musical tastes, from folk to country to rock and beyond, with his own original songs, some of them sincere, some humorous, and also covers of various songs, some of them from Tin Pan Alley. And that's what one hears again on Unfinished Business. The leadoff track, "Whispering Man," and "In Real Life" (both of which sound like they may have benefited from after-the-fact overdubbing) are adult contemporary ballads; "Mind Over Matter" and "Millie Make Some Chili" have country arrangements; "Don't Get Sand in It" is a good-natured pop/rock tune; and "God Bless Our Mobile Home" and "(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I" are duets between Goodman and his mandolin-playing touring partner, Jethro Burns (formerly of Homer & Jethro), recorded at a radio station. Toward the end, more solo Goodman is heard, with a new version of "The Dutchman," the Michael Smith song Goodman first recorded on his second album, Somebody Else's Troubles, and a concluding performance of "My Funny Valentine," which bookend an original seasonal song, "Colorado Christmas" (another song that sounds like it might have some new overdubs). It sounds like a miscellany, but Goodman's reedy voice holds it all together, and it is no more diverse than one of the albums he concocted himself.
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.
''UNFINISHED BUSINESS''
1987
36:31
1 /Whispering Man
Steve Goodman / Mixmaster Michael Smith/4:10
2 /Mind Over Matter
Steve Goodman/2:51
3 /God Bless Our Mobile Home
Steve Goodman/4:13
4 /Millie Make Some Chili
Russell Brown / Russell E. Brown / William P McCord / Billy Vera/3:06
5 /In Real Life
Steve Goodman / Bill LaBounty/3:40
6 /(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I
Hank Snow / Bill Trader/2:49
7 /Don't Get Sand in It
Steve Goodman / Sean Kelly/2:56
8 /The Dutchman
Michael Peter Smith/5:10
9 /Colorado Christmas
Steve Goodman/4:11
10 /My Funny Valentine
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers/3:18
Jeff Baxter /Guitar (Electric)
Robert Bowker /Vocals (Background)
Peter Bunetta /Arranger, Drums, Percussion, Producer
Jethro Burns /Mandolin
Brad Buxer /Drum Programming, Drums, Synthesizer
Rick Chudacoff /Arranger, Bass, Producer
Mark Colby /Saxophone
Bill Elliott /Keyboards
Steve Goodman /Guitar (Acoustic), Mandola, Mandolin, Vocals
Bonnie Herman /Vocals (Background)
Vicki Hubly /Vocals (Background)
Howard Levy /Harmonica
Ron Murray /Bass
Mitch Perry /Guitar (Electric)
Joe Pusateri /Drums, Percussion
The Radiators /Vocals (Background)
Bob Rans /Piano, Synclavier
Brian Ray /Guitar (Electric)
Steve Rodby /Bass, Bass (Upright)
Jim Rothermel /Saxophone
Bill Ruppert /Guitar (Electric)
Leslie Smith /Vocals (Background)
Michael Peter Smith /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
Tim Stone /Vocals (Background)
Jim Tullio /Percussion
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
Although Steve Goodman's album Santa Ana Winds was, technically, a posthumous release, it was so polished an effort and appeared so soon after his death in September 1984 that it seemingly must have been in the can before his final illness. Unfinished Business, however, appearing three years later, clearly was a collection of previously unreleased archival recordings that had been assembled as an LP. Yet it was not all that different from most Goodman albums. During his lifetime, Goodman liked to put together collections that traced the range of his musical tastes, from folk to country to rock and beyond, with his own original songs, some of them sincere, some humorous, and also covers of various songs, some of them from Tin Pan Alley. And that's what one hears again on Unfinished Business. The leadoff track, "Whispering Man," and "In Real Life" (both of which sound like they may have benefited from after-the-fact overdubbing) are adult contemporary ballads; "Mind Over Matter" and "Millie Make Some Chili" have country arrangements; "Don't Get Sand in It" is a good-natured pop/rock tune; and "God Bless Our Mobile Home" and "(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I" are duets between Goodman and his mandolin-playing touring partner, Jethro Burns (formerly of Homer & Jethro), recorded at a radio station. Toward the end, more solo Goodman is heard, with a new version of "The Dutchman," the Michael Smith song Goodman first recorded on his second album, Somebody Else's Troubles, and a concluding performance of "My Funny Valentine," which bookend an original seasonal song, "Colorado Christmas" (another song that sounds like it might have some new overdubs). It sounds like a miscellany, but Goodman's reedy voice holds it all together, and it is no more diverse than one of the albums he concocted himself.
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.
1 comment :
Steve Goodman GOOD. More Please.
Thanks,
rockymustard
Post a Comment