T Bear: “The Way Of The World” (2024) CD Review

Richard Gerstein, also known as Richard T. Bear, also known as T Bear, put out his first album in 1978. Titled Red Hot & Blue, that album featured elements of blues, soul and funk, and featured Billy Squier on acoustic guitar. He followed that the next year with Bear and then a live album titled Captured Alive. He played keyboards on Billy Squier’s 1980 debut album, The Tale Of The Tape, and on the 1982 Crosby, Stills & Nash album Daylight Again, and put out a couple more albums in the 1980s. And then? Nothing, at least as far as new records are concerned. Nothing for a very long time. Not until a few years ago, when he put out an album titled Fresh Bear Tracks, the first release under the name T Bear. And now he has a new album titled The Way Of The World, which features all original material, written or co-written by T Bear. T Bear plays keyboards on this album. Joining him on this release are Laurence Juber on guitar, and Tony Braunagel on drums and percussion, with Lenny Castro also providing some percussion. Braunagel and Juber also produced the album. There are guests joining T Bear various tracks.

The Way Of The World opens with its title track, which starts with these lines: “Sharks never stop swimming/Writers need a beginning/Cheaters never stop winning/That’s the way of the world.” That seems to be the case, doesn’t it? I’ve been trying lately to not focus on politics, but it is so difficult. Who would have thought even in his most cynical moments that a cheater could win his way to the highest political office in the land? “And the politician never stop grinning,” T Bear sings a little later in the song. And we know exactly why that is. Ah yes, but the rest of us have music on our side, and songs like this act as friends in the darkness. Ricky Cortez plays bass on this song. That’s followed by “Sign On The Dotted Line,” which has a strong and totally enjoyable rhythm. Ricky Cortez is on bass for this one too. “I should have known better when I signed on that dotted line/Hell, I should have known better when she crossed the line.”

“Before The Fall” has a delicious classic vibe, and it has me in its grasp from its opening moments. “When my eyes are open/A sea of rare emotion/I feel your breath on me/I’ve given you my key/Hanging onto dreams so dearly.” Teresa James joins him on backing vocals, and as always delivers some excellent work. This track also features some really nice stuff on electric guitar. Hutch Hutchinson plays bass on this track. This is one of my personal favorites. It was written by T Bear and Eva Marie Frederick. Then on “Jewel,” he creates a great, dark bluesy atmosphere, with a vocal performance and vibe that remind me a bit of certain Leon Russell material at the beginning. This track is fantastic, just dripping with cool, another of the disc’s highlights. “Come over here/The coast is clear/You can kiss me if you want.” That’s followed by “Walter Mitty’s Glasses,” an interesting song. I need to revisit that short story, “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty,” for I have only vague recollections of it. This song has a soulful rhythm at the start, with some nice touches on guitar. “I’m afraid that you, you might melt away,” he sings, and then the rhythm changes, taking on a reggae flavor, a surprising turn that works quite well. Then the track returns to that more soulful sound. “In a crowded room you’re all that I can see/I dream that you always leave with me/It’s true, I met somebody new/And she’s almost you.”

“A Change Will Do Me Good” was released as the album’s first single, and it’s the song that got me excited about this release. It features some good percussion, with something of a Bo Diddley rhythm. “Same old food, the same old drive/I need more to feel alive.” Oh yes, a change would do many of us some good. Well, this song’s rhythm will provide a good start, get your body moving. There is a great energy to this track, and I dig that guitar lead. Plus, there is a brief drum and percussion section that I love. “The clocking is ticking and the time is fast/Looking to the future, won’t live in the past.” This song was written by T Bear and Laurence Juber. Then “Your Husband’s Got A Gun” has a great vibe right from the start with that wonderful rhythm. It will have you smiling right away, and then T Bear begins to tell us a story of someone who has been sleeping with a married woman. “As the sun sets down today, my troubles have just begun/I’m just killing time, not looking to get killed, having some fun/Because I’m running for my life and your husband’s got a gun.” But it’s such a playful tune, leading us to think this character is going to be fine. “Pray for me now,” he says before a cool instrumental section begins. And with those instruments working on his behalf, we are nearly certain he’ll be okay. Jon Woodhead plays guitar on this track.

“This Bird Has Flown” has a dreamier vibe as it begins. “She puts on her raincoat/Heads out the door/Runs down the alley/She’s done it before/But this time she’s leaving/This much I know.” Johnny Lee Schell joins T Bear on backing vocals. Josh Sklair plays guitar on this track, Belmont Tench plays organ, and Lee Thornberg plays both trombone and trumpet. Lee Thornberg’s work in particular gives this track a different feel from the others. That’s followed by “Breathe,” a mellow and beautiful number that feels like a friend you can turn to. You feel that in the first lines, “When you’re wondering who to call/When nighttime starts to fall/As the sky turns to rust/And it’s love me or bust/Just breathe/Just breathe.” I absolutely love this song. Isn’t this exactly the sort of song we need in these days of nearly constant tension? Stevie Blacke adds some beautiful work on strings, and this track contains some wonderful work on guitar. There is also a little nod to T Bear’s first album in the line “Whether it’s red hot, blue or lime.” And check out these lines: “I left my crystal ball at home/Wishing it would turn to stone/It’s never front page news/When there’s holes in your shoes/And not enough fingers to plug the holes/And life’s rushing in from every side/And you’re caught in life’s landslides/And you tried and you tried and you tried.” Wow. I love this song more and more each time I listen to it. It’s one of my favorites of the year.

T Bear changes gears then with “They Can Kill You,” which has a funky groove and features some great stuff from Paulie Cerra on saxophone and from Lee Thornberg on trumpet and trombone. This track gets us feeling loose, get us dancing, even as he tells us, “No matter who you are/No matter where you go/No matter what you do/’Cause they’re gonna get you, they’re gonna get you now/They, they can kill, they can kill you in so many ways.” Gia Ciambotti joins T Bear on backing vocals. Reggie McBride plays bass on this track, Mike Finnigan is on organ, and Josh Sklair is on guitar. This song was written by T Bear, Ned Albright and Tony Braunagel. That’s followed by “Dinner For One,” which has a delicious vibe, with some jazzy elements. I am especially fond of the work on keys. And what a compelling vocal performance. “Ceiling fans keeps me cool, but my mind seems to drift away/Outside the neon blinks from exhaustion/Screaming promises of what’s inside, but no one watching/Still, I cook this dinner for one.” This song is yet another of the album’s highlights, and contains some great stuff on guitar. “Dinner For One” was written by T Bear and Eva Marie Frederick.

“This is going to be a love to remember,” T Bear sings at the beginning of “True Romance.” And soon he tells us, “I believe in true romance.” Domenic Genova plays upright bass on this track. The album concludes with “Red Harvest,” which features some wonderful work by Ada Pasternak on violin. And Paul Rodgers joins T Bear on vocals on this one. (Yes, the singer for Bad Company.) It’s a powerful song, in support of Ukraine. It’s listed as a bonus track on the back of the CD case, possibly because it was released a couple of years ago. Can you believe that more than two years have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine? “A child said, Look mama a shooting star/Then it exploded in their car/Homes are burning and lives in tatters/Children die because their lives don’t matter/In the red, red harvest.”

CD Track List

1. The Way Of The World
2. Sign On The Dotted Line
3. Before The Fall
4. Jewel
5. Walter Mitty’s Glasses
6. A Change Will Do Me Good
7. Your Husband’s Got A Gun
8. This Bird Has Flown
9. Breathe
10. They Can Kill You
11. Dinner For One
12. True Romance
13. Red Harvest

The Way Of The World was released on March 22, 2024 on Quarto Valley Records.

The Burrito Brothers: “Together” (2023) CD Review

Starting in the late 1960s, The Flying Burrito Brothers have had an unusual and twisted journey, with many different lineups and name changes, including Burrito Deluxe and The Burritos. Somewhere along the way, they stopped flying, and are now The Burrito Brothers. What’s wild is that throughout all these changes in personnel, which started almost immediately, the group has put out some wonderful music. Logically, perhaps, it shouldn’t happen that way. After all, none of the original members are still active in the band, and those that replaced the original members are also no longer a part of it, and the ones that replaced them aren’t either. It’s difficult to even keep track of how many changes have occurred, with occasional older members returning and then going (a large chart is needed to follow this band’s journey). Yet somehow whoever it is that is recording under the various Burrito names seem destined to put out good music. Go figure. The latest album put out by The Burrito Brothers is Together, which was released almost a year ago. The band for this album is made up of Chris P. James on vocals, keyboard and harmonica; Bob Hatter on electric guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals; Tony Paoletta on pedal steel guitar, dobro, 12-string guitar, banjo, mandolin and vocals; and Peter Young on drums, percussion, vocals and acoustic guitar. The album is dedicated to Bob Hatter, who died before the album was completed. He had played on the 2018 album Still Going Strong and the 2020 release The Notorious Burrito Brothers, the latter’s title clearly a play on The Byrds’ The Notorious Byrd Brothers, which came out in 1968, the year The Flying Burrito Brothers group was founded as sort of an offshoot of The Byrds. Taking over for Bob Hatter on this disc is Steve Allen on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and vocals. There are also guests on a couple of tracks. This album features original material.

The album opens with “Ms. Misery,” which has those sweet, mellow folk and country elements this band is known and loved for, and it features some nice work on pedal steel. This song was written by Chris P. James and Bob Hatter. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Mean Ms. Misery, mean Ms. Misery/The saying goes she loves company/But now I know I wish it wasn’t me/My heart is broken and I’m on my knees/Praying for mercy, mercy, please, oh, Ms. Misery.” There is a little guitar section that might remind you of The Byrds. That’s followed by “Mr. Customs Man.” This is an interesting one, for Gram Parsons gets a songwriting credit on it, along with Chris P. James and Bob Hatter. As I understand it, it is based on the written lyrics to “L.A. Customs Blues,” a version of which was recorded by Carl Jackson on the 2000 release The Gram Parson Notebook: The Last Whippoorwill. It’s great that these guys present this song, for it combines the earliest of the Burritos with the latest. Plus, it’s a good song. I love the way it builds in energy toward the end, and features some great stuff on guitar. These guys add their own lyrics as well, and at the end they comment, “That was fun.” Indeed.

“Together,” the album’s title track, has a cool psychedelic vibe as it starts. It feels like it’s prepared to explore some interesting territory, and I am immediately on board. Even the pedal steel has a psychedelic edge, which is wonderful. And it’s a love song. “This love’s a work of art/And we should stay forever/Let’s hope our road is long.” Toward the end, there is a short spoken word section, “So we’ve got this isolation, we’ve got this world full of haters,” which is in some contrast to the sweet aspect of most of this track’s drive. This one was written by Chris P. James, and it’s one of my favorites. Ronnie Rael plays guitar on this track. And speaking of love, the next song is titled “I Find Love,” in which they sing “I find love in everything you do.” Nice. Another line that stands out for me is, “Before you there was nothing I ever held onto,” and in that line, I like how there is a pause after the word “nothing,” at first giving the impression that nothing whatsoever existed before that person came into his life. It feels that way sometimes, doesn’t it, like it’s strange that there was anything before the love of our lives showed up. This track features some good work on guitar.

Ron Guilbeau joins the group on guitar for “Let Go,” a song he co-wrote with Chris P. James and Rick Lonow. “Lay down your burden/Shackles and chains/Even when you’re hurtin’/Love remains.” I like the positive and friendly message in those opening lines, and I like the way they combine the idea of letting go with the directive “Let’s go” in the line “Let go, let go, let go, let’s go, let’s go,” the idea of moving on in more than one way. “Tonight let’s have good times/We may as well sing/Might just be someone listening.” This track features some lovely work on pedal steel, and there is a nice jam at the end. That is followed by “Blood On His Hands,” which has a stronger country vibe, with prominent work on pedal steel at its heart. Its lyrics are pure country: “I have spent my whole life out on the road/The last time that we spoke, I knew you weren’t alone/And the rumors that I’m hearing are more than I can stand/That’s what a heartache can do to a man.” This one was written by Tony Paoletta, Bob Hatter, Chris P. James and Peter Young. It features some nice vocal work.

“Boiling Point” begins oddly, with a montage of different audio pieces, including a baseball announcer saying “Just a bit outside.” The actual song begins nearly thirty seconds into the track. There is a great energy to this song, particularly in the vocal performance. “The night is still ahead/Feel the heat, through and through/Love’s sweet fire touching you.” It is more in the rock vein, and there is something catchy about this song. There is also something playful to this one, which you can hear especially at the end. Then “Streets Of Santa Rosa” has a pleasant, sweet vibe from its start. “We drove through the night/The mountains were high/A full tank of gas kept us on course.” It is interesting that after the “mountains were high” line, the pedal steel sounds like a vehicle approaching and passing, a really nice touch. This song looks back to the band’s roots in the lines, “Then The Byrds started singing/About a tambourine man.”  The song functions as a sweet goodbye to Bob Hatter: “You played your heart out and everyone knows.” It is a moving tribute. “Your memory goes on burning so bright/But the streets of Santa Rosa are dark tonight.” That’s followed by a pretty and gentle love song titled “I Live For Loving You,” written by Chris P. James. “From this day on, I’ll never be without you/I promise to prove my love in everything I do.”

The album concludes with “History Suite,” a piece that is made up of seven different sections, each given its own title. The first section is titled “Rhapsody.” “Hey look, see here what you’ve done to me/Caused a rhapsody.” It features some nice work on banjo. The song then takes an unexpected turn, with some spoken word mixed with strange sounds, this part titled “Abstract Collage.” It’s odd, but something beautiful emerges from that, an instrumental section that features pedal steel and begins the “History” part of this piece. These lines stand out in these strange and trying times: “Everyone’s mad, everyone’s crazy/And I’m here for you.” The pace then increases, and this section’s first line, “So you want to be a music critic,” is a reference to The Byrds’ “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.” There is a bite to the delivery, and certainly there is resentment expressed here, leading me to wonder just what some critics might have said. This section, however, is called “Keep On Movin’,” and so it ultimately has a positive vibe. That section leads to “I Just Love My Baby,” because of course it always comes back to love. What else is there? This section contains a reference to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “For music is the food of love.” That line refers to the first line of the play, “If music be the food of love, play on.” The piece returns to “History” briefly before closing with “Goodbye,” which offers the playful comment, “We’ll be better next time.”

CD Track List

1. Ms. Misery
2. Mr. Customs Man
3. Together
4. I Find Love
5. Let Go
6. Blood On His Hands
7. Boiling Point
8. Streets Of Santa Rosa
9. I Live For Loving You
10. History Suite

Together was released on August 25, 2023.

Mitch Ryder: “The Roof Is On Fire” (2024) CD Review

Mitch Ryder continues to rock well into his seventies. He says that when it comes to music, age is irrelevant, and he proves that with every performance. I saw him perform in 2017, and he was fantastic. I remember that day he did a cool, bluesy rendition of “Many Rivers To Cross” that surprised me. Well, earlier this year he released a two-disc live album titled The Roof Is On Fire, and it includes that song as well as some other excellent covers and original songs. This release contains performances from early 2019 and early 2020 in Germany. The band backing him includes Gisbert “Pitti” Piatkowski on guitar and backing vocals, Heiner Witte on guitar and backing vocals, Manne Pokrandt on bass and backing vocals, Tobias Ridder on drums and backing vocals, Wolfram “Boddi” Bodag on keys and backing vocals, and Rene Decker on keys and saxophone and backing vocals. Both Bodag and Decker also plays harmonica.

Disc 1

The first disc is labeled “Tuff” on the CD case, and it opens with “Betty’s Too Tight,” a seriously fun and energetic original rock song that Mitch Ryder included on his Got Change For A Million? LP, which came out in 1981. This recording comes from 2020, and it contains some excellent work on both guitar and keys. And Mitch Ryder is on top of things. Just listen as he delivers lines like “On the couch, I lost my nerve/She gave me all I deserve/Please relieve me.” The band keeps the energy high with “Tough Kid,” another original song, this one having been included on the 1978 album How I Spent My Vacation. Immediately there is some great stuff on guitar, and then keys before Mitch comes in on vocals. And when he does come in, a little over a minute in, the band seems to take on more power. In part, it’s that wonderful stuff on harmonica, that instrument starts howling when he comes in. And it’s also the attitude in his delivery. “Home’s a dump, your neighbors all hate your guts.” And somehow this one seems to grow in power as it goes. This track is a highlight. It comes from a show he did in 2019.

The first cover of the disc is Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” and this version has a strong groove, the band rocking the song and jamming on it between verses. Mitch Ryder then returns to original material with “Bang Bang,” which was included on Got Change For A Million? and features some delicious work on drums. “Here come the soldiers with weapons of war/Dragging the flag to even the score/Across the planet these little men kill.” And listen to the passion in his voice as he sings, “Bang bang, someone, someone I love is dead/God kick their asses good, send them all to bed.” He follows that with “Ain’t Nobody White,” an original song from his 1980 album Naked But Not Dead, and another track to feature some good work on guitar. “Some folks got, some have not/There’s no fixed set of rules/In the rush, don’t step on any fools.” This track also features a really good bass line.

The last three tracks on the first disc are covers, beginning with “Tuff Enuff,” a song that was a hit for The Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1986. Mitch Ryder delivers a great rendition. This track features some fun stuff on harmonica, and there is a cool section where the harmonica and guitar do a little back-and-forth. That’s followed by the disc’s second Bob Dylan song, “From A Buick 6,” which begins with some nice stuff on keys, and soon becomes a groovy, bluesy rendition. I love Mitch Ryder’s approach to this song, and the way he stresses certain lines, such as “If I go down dying, she bound to put a blanket on my bed, on my bed, on my bed.” And there is more good stuff on harmonica. The final song on the first disc is a wonderful cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Heart Of Stone.” He lets the audience take the song’s title line the first time. There is a cool instrumental section in the middle, featuring harmonica, which leads to the audience joining him on a vocal part.

Disc 2

The second disc is labeled “Soft” on the CD case, and it opens with “Freezin’ In Hell,” a song from How I Spent My Vacation. The band eases in, developing a good blues groove and vibe. That guitar work in that opening section has a timeless feel. When Mitch Ryder comes in, his vocals have a more intimate, smooth sound. “I want to love you like I said I could/I’m just not ready to fall.” This is such a cool track, and is another of my personal favorites. It is followed by “All The Fools It Sees,” a song from his 2008 album You Deserve My Art. This one has a rather beautiful vibe as it begins. And we hear the ache in his voice as he sings the very first line, “I cried last night over you.” And his performance only becomes more moving from there. This track also features some excellent work on guitar, particularly during that instrumental section in the second half. Mitch Ryder follows that with “If You Need The Pain,” the lead track from his 2006 release The Acquitted Idiot (an album title I love), and another that is moving.  “You know it will kill you to go on this way/You trust the word love and so you stay.”

Mitch Ryder delivers a really good rendition of “Many Rivers To Cross,” which is much more bluesy than Jimmy Cliff’s original recording. He included this on a 2019 album The Blind Squirrel Finds A Nut, which I somehow missed when it came out. That same year he put out another album Detroit Breakdown, which I did get. Anyway, he sounds completely emotionally connected to this song in this rendition, which is from a concert he performed in 2019. That’s followed by another song from The Acquitted Idiot, “Star Nomore.” “I want to go home/Not doing too well out here alone/The road has been so hard so long,” he sings at the beginning of this original number. And we hear the weariness, the ache in his voice. The music is steady, as if to work to help him keep going. This track features some nice work on saxophone before the end, a companion to him out on the road.

“Red Scar Eyes” is the album’s final original song. It comes from Got Change For A Million? and begins with a good instrumental section setting the mood. And it’s a great choice to follow “Star Nomore,” for in that previous song he sings, “I swear I know for sure/Can’t be a star anymore,” and in this one he sings, “I’m a star, I’m a star,” with an interesting delivery, that line coming as it does soon after this line: “Going to rip his head off, keep it in a jar.” And we get a dubious sense of what it means to be a star. The guitar then speaks for him. “I wasn’t born happy, never could stand in the sun/I broke my woman, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done.” The album then comes to a close with a cover of The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen” (as The Doors themselves closed out their Absolutely Live! album). Here the band stretches out, easing into the song, which features some wonderful back-and-forth on guitar and saxophone before Mitch even comes in. And Mitch delivers a strong, nuanced performance. The band jams on this song (the track is sixteen minutes long), and there is an excellent lead on saxophone halfway through. Mitch Ryder introduces the band in the second half.

CD Track List

Disc 1

1. Betty’s Too Tight
2. Tough Kid
3. Subterranean Homesick Blues
4. Bang Bang
5. Ain’t Nobody White
6. Tuff Enuff
7. From A Buick 6
8. Heart Of Stone

Disc 2

1. Freezin’ In Hell
2. All The Fools It Sees
3. If You Need The Pain
4. Many Rivers To Cross
5. Star Nomore
6. Red Scar Eyes
7. Soul Kitchen

The Roof Is On Fire was released on January 26, 2024 on Ruf Records.