ROCK HALL - THREE FOR ALL: HEART & JOAN JETT

I caught the Rock Hall - Three-For-All tour on August 23rd at it's L.A. stop at the Forum in Inglewood which features three legendary rock bands of the '70's, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and Heart. Due to my late arrival, I didn't catch Cheap Trick (although I must admit I'm not really much of a fan) but two out of three ain't bad.

At fifty-seven, Jett is still in ass-kicking shape, decked out in a leather and sequins body-suit and combat boots, as she tore through a tight set of hard-driving rock & roll. With her long-time producer, Kenny Laguna playing on keyboards and percussion, she delivered the expected hits like "Bad Reputation" and "I Hate Myself for Loving You" along with her popular covers of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)" and Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover".

Jett was only just inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame just two years ago which is shameful because she's been an important, long-time crusader of the music. As a teen, she was a part of the first all-female rock group, The Runaways and takes us back with a performance of their biggest single, "Cherry Bomb".

Jett also went back to her starring role in the family drama, "Light of Day", where she played the sister of Michael J. Fox (!) who both play in a local bar band seeking fame. The singer performed the title track, written by Bruce Springsteen, as images from the 1987 film played on the large screen behind the band. I had forgotten that Gena Rowlands was in it playing their mother (!!). The best was saved for last as Jett and The Blackhearts closed out their set with the smash 1982 number one hit, "I Love Rock & Roll" where the audience sang along, loudly confirming that phrase.

Heart was also only recently added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and I hate to think that Ann and Nancy Wilson's gender played a role in the long delay but there were bands that are less influential and sold far fewer records that were quickly inducted in to the hall.

Anyway, on the road to promote their recently released record, "Beautiful Broken" which is made-up mostly of re-interpretations of music from their earlier albums, Heart blasted on to the stage with "Wild Child", a cut off their 1990 album, "Brigade". They followed that up with a string of some of their classic tunes, "Magic Man", "Even It Up", and "What About Love". Ann, whose gritty, soulful voice has lost none of it's power, surprised the audience by giving us a little James Brown and his "Get Up Offa That Thing" before launching in to a funky version of their song, "Straight On".

Taking center stage briefly, Nancy slowed things down by performing two ballads; Heart's number one smash from the '80's, "These Dreams" and one of the new tracks off the current album co-written by Ne-Yo, "Two".

The Wilson sisters have never made it a secret that Led Zeppelin were the inspiration that lead them to pursue music and Heart paid tribute to that iconic band during their encore by performing "Immigrant Song" and the song at the center of a recent lawsuit, "Stairway To Heaven". It was a perfect way to end a perfect evening of electrifying music.

If you missed the show, have a listen to the original recordings of some of my favorite tunes. It's not the same as hearing them performed live but it's the next best thing:

 "Bad Reputation" (1980) - Joan Jett mp3

"Crimson and Clover" (1981) - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts mp3

"Barracuda" (1977) - Heart mp3

"Straight On" (1978) - Heart mp3

MY TUNE OF THE DAY

Today's tune comes from Stevie Wonder who has reliably given us wonderful music throughout the years. "If You Really Love Me" is such an amazing song with it's unusual arrangement and vibrant vocals. America agreed as this single reached number eight on the pop chart and number four on the r&b chart.

This song came off of Wonder's 1970 album "Where I'm Coming From" which was written by the then twenty-year old singer and his new bride, Syreeta Wright, a songwriter, singer and former secretary at Motown. The album was released with much resistance from Berry Gordy who liked to have complete control over the content of his label's artists. However, Wonder wanted to be able to creatively express himself without interference to explore different musical ideas and write about social issues.

This caused some serious tension between Wonder and Motown. When he turned twenty-one, his recording contract had a clause which allowed Wonder to void it upon becoming legally an adult and refused to resign with the label. During this standoff, Wonder worked on his music independently before finally signing a new contract with Motown in 1972 which allowed him complete creative control and a higher royalty rate.

After all the drama, the singer's most successful and popular period began, leading to the albums, "Innervisions", "Fulfillingness' First Finale" (with each winning Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards) and "Talking Book" (which features the classic songs, "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" and "Superstition").

"If You Really Love Me" - Stevie Wonder (1971) mp3

TAKE TWO: TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY

Terence Trent D'Arby seemed to come out of nowhere and dropped, "Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby" which became a critical and commercial smash selling more than eight million copies worldwide before just as quickly falling off the radar. With his striking good looks, slick dance moves and musical gifts which had him also writing, producing and playing multiple instruments on the record, D'Arby appeared on his way to becoming a major act yet his follow-up work failed to generate much wide appeal.

It would seem obvious to compare him to Prince, who had just entered superstar status around this time, but D'Arby is a performer with a grittier edge, closer in style to James Brown than the Purple One. The album, celebrating it's thirtieth birthday next year, is frenzied collection of glossy soul that still holds up very well today.

He was born in New York and his family moved frequently around the country before settling in Florida. As a teen, he had some success as a lightweight boxer but decided to go to college. After dropping out of school, D'Arby joined the army but was dishonorably discharged for desertion while stationed near Frankfurt, West Germany. He decided to stay in Europe and joined a band called The Touch and recorded an album in 1984.

D'Arby soon traveled to London and based on the strength of his demos, he was signed to Columbia Records. His debut album was released in 1987 and became an instant number one hit in the UK with the first single, "If You Let Me Stay" reaching number seven on the pop chart there. His home country was slower to pick up on the artist, with the first single not even cracking the top forty, but the next single, "Wishing Well" would hit number one on the U.S. pop and r&b charts.  With additional singles, "Dance Little Sister" and "Sign Your Name" reaching the charts, D'Arby had one of the biggest albums of the year.

However during this time of his new found fame, D'Arby's behavior became erratic and difficult. Long before Kanye West made arrogance an art form,  he boldly announced that "Hardline" "was the most important album since the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper". The relationship between the singer with his record label and management team also became seriously strained by his antics. His next three albums, which were far less commercial in sound than his first, did not impress the buying public or critics and by 2000, he left behind his record company and the name "Terence Trent D'Arby".

He legally changed his name to "Sananda Maitreya" in 2001, moved to Milan, Italy and started his own independent record label, Treehouse Pub. His music moved in a far more striped-down, esoteric direction with elements of rock, funk and experimental sounds. Maitreya's latest studio album, "The Rise Of The Zugebrian Time Lords" was released last year.

Have a listen to two of my favorite songs by the artist formerly known as "Terence Trent D'Arby":

"Dance Little Sister" - Terence Trent D'Arby (1987) mp3

"Let's Go Forward" - Terence Trent D'Arby (1987) mp3

If you are unfamiliar with the former Mr. D'Arby, then you probably should have a visual introduction as well. Here is a bonus of the video for one of his biggest hits, "Wishing Well":