This Month in Music (1940): Woody Guthrie released Dust Bowl Ballads

Dust Bowl Ballads Woody Guthrie

Released: July 1940 Recorded: April 26 – May 3, 1940 Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: folk

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) The Great Dust Storm (Dust Storm Disaster) Talking Dust Bowl Blues Pretty Boy Floyd * Dusty Old Dusty (So Long It’s Been Good to Know Yuh) Dust Bowl Blues * Blowin’ Down the Road (I Ain’t Going to Be Treated This Way) Tom Joad, Pt. 1 Tom Joad, Pt. 2 Do Re Mi Dust Bowl Refugee Vigilante Man Dust Cain’t Kill Me Dust Pneumonia Blues Talking Dust Bowl Blues [alternate version] ** * 1964 reissue ** 2000 reissue Total Running Time: 36:36

Rating: 4.460 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings) Quotable: “It helped define all the folk music that followed it” – William Ruhlmann, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Grapes of Wrath “When 27-year-old Woody Guthrie appeared in New York City in the winter of 1940, he struck observers as a living, breathing embodiment of the characters John Steinbeck had written about in his best-selling novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which had just been turned into a motion picture. Hailing from Oklahoma, Guthrie had a detailed knowledge of the Dust Bowl conditions that had led to an exodus of Okies west to California, where they became migrant workers in often onerous conditions, and he used that knowledge to create songs with the tunefulness of Jimmie Rodgers and the wry wit of Will Rogers. Victor Records, looking for an answer to rival Columbia’s folk singer Burl Ives, signed Guthrie and put him in a recording studio, resulting in two simultaneously released three-disc albums of 78s” AM1 known at the time as Dust Bowl Ballads, Vol. 1 and Dust Bowl Ballads, Vol. 2. Collectively they constitute a consistent concept album that roughly follows the outlines of…The Grapes of Wrath.” AM2 The Album’s Impact “Guthrie played acoustic guitar rhythmically and efficiently, occasionally also blowing on a harmonica to accompany his singing, which was full of rural diction and country twang, but still got his points across clearly. Victor got more than it bargained for in signing Guthrie. He was far more serious, and far more accomplished, than a light entertainer like Ives. The whole panoply of a national disaster was set out in his music, expressed with both humor and conviction.” AM1 “Sixty years later, listeners may hear these songs through the music Guthrie influenced, particularly the folk tunes of Bob Dylan. Either way, this is powerful music, rendered simply and directly. It was devastatingly effective when first released, and it helped define all the folk music that followed it.” AM2 The Original Release and Reissues “RCA Victor Records, the only major label for which Guthrie ever recorded, issued two three-disc 78 rpm albums, Dust Bowl Ballads, Vol. 1 and Dust Bowl Ballads, Vol. 2, in July 1940, containing a total of 11 songs.” AM2 The collection was revamped in 1964 as a single 12” LP with two songs added. When it was reissued again in 2000, another song was added and the running order was shuffled again. The Songs Here are insights into individual tracks. “The Great Dust Storm (Dust Storm Disaster)” “The story begins, as The Great Dust Storm (Dust Storm Disaster) has it, ‘On the fourteenth day of April of 1935,’ when a giant dust storm hits the Great Plains, transforming the landscape. Shortly after, the farmers pack up their families and head west, where they have been promised there is work aplenty picking fruit in the lush valleys of California.” AM1 “Talkin’ Dust Bowl Ballad Blues” “The trip is eventful, as Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues humorously shows” AM2 “though his comic observations did nothing to hide the circumstances as he spoke in the first person of an Okie taking his family to California.” AM1 An alternate version of the song was added to the 2000 reissue. “Pretty Boy Floyd” “In Pretty Boy Floyd, he treats an ancillary subject, as the famous outlaw is valorized as a misunderstood Robin Hood. Guthrie treats his subject alternately with dry wit and defiance.” AM2 The song was not part of the original Dust Bowl Ballads in 1940 but was added in 1964 when the collection was reissued as a single 12” LP. “Dust Bowl Ballads” was also added add this point. “Blowin’ Down This Road” “Blowin’ Down This Road was more direct, with its defiant tag line, ‘I ain’t a-gonna be treated this-a-way.’” AM1 “Tom Joad” “In case the connection to The Grapes of Wrath was not clear enough, Guthrie concluded the [original] album with the two parts of Tom Joad, which was nothing less than a musical retelling of…the novel.” AM1 Because of the limitations of the 78 record format, the song was split into two parts. “Do Re Mi” Meanwhile, Do Re Mi warned “that the promises about California were false and that, as dispossessed and desperate as they might be, the Okies were better advised to stay home unless they were ready to establish themselves immediately in the West, unless they had ‘the do re mi,’ (i.e., money).” AM1 “Dust Cain’t Kill Me” “Guthrie’s songs go back and forth across this tale of woe,” AM2 sometimes focusing “on human villains, with deputy sheriffs and vigilantes providing particular trouble” AM2 and sometimes “on the horrors of the dust storm” AM2 such as on Dust Cain’t Kill Me, which finds “the singer admitting it could kill his family, for instance, but nevertheless asserting that it wouldn’t kill him.” AM1 “Dust Pneumonia Blues” He was “conscious of the deliberate contrast with Jimmie Rodgers, whose music is evoked even as he is being mocked in Dust Pneumonia Blues.” AM2

Reviews: AM1 AllMusic.com review by William Ruhlmann of original 1940 releases AM2 AllMusic.com review by William Ruhlmann of 2000 reissue TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Related DMDB Links: First posted 4/7/2008; last updated 9/5/2025.

Frank Zappa Joe’s Garage released

Joe’s Garage (Acts I, II, and III) Frank Zappa

Released: 9/22/1979 (Act I), 12/15/1979 (Acts II & III) Peak (Act I): 27 US, 62 UK, 16 CN, 94 AU Peak (Acts II & III): 53 US, 75 UK, 39 CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: experimental rock

Tracks, Act I: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) The Central Scrutinizer [3:27] Joe’s Garage [6:10] Catholic Girls [4:26] Crew Slut [5:51] Wet T-Shirt Nite [5:26] Toad-O Line [4:18] Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? [2:35] Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up [7:17] Tracks, Act II: A Token of My Extreme [5:28] Stick It Out [4:33] Sy Borg [8:50] Dong Work for Yuda [5:03] Keep It Greasey [8:22] Outside Now [5:52] Tracks, Act III: He Used to Cut the Grass [8:34] Packard Goose [11:38] Watermelon in Easter Hay [9:08] A Little Green Rosetta [8:17] Total Running Time: 115:14

Rating: 3.988 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa was born in 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. His debut album was 1966’s Freak Out! with the Mothers of Invention. It was an eclectic and experimental album that set the tone for a career of more than sixty albums that experimented with multiple genres including rock, pop, jazz, and classical. About Joe’s Garage One of Zappa’s most celebrated works, Joe’s Garage, came more than 25 albums into his career. It was originally released in two parts – Act I in September 1979 and the two-record set Acts II & III in November 1979. In 1987, all three acts were packaged together as a box set. Reception The album is “not focused enough to rank with his earliest Mothers of Invention masterpieces” AM but “is generally regarded as one of Zappa’s finest post-‘60s conceptual works.” AM “Critics latched onto the work more for its conceptual substance,” AM hailing it as “one of Zappa's most important ‘70s works and overall political statements.” AM However, the album has also been criticized for the “scatological, sexual and profane nature of the lyrics.” WK The Concept It is “a sprawling, satirical rock opera about a totalitarian future in which music is outlawed to control the population.” AM The album “satirizes social control mechanisms, consumerism, corporate abuses, gender politics, religion, and the rock & roll lifestyle.” AM It also “addresses themes of individualism, free will, censorship, the music industry and human sexuality, while criticizing government and religion, and satirizing Catholicism and Scientology.” WK “All these forces conspire against the title protagonist” AM, an average adolescent male who “forms a garage rock band, has unsatisfying relationships with women, gives all of his money to a government-assisted and insincere religion, explores sexual activities with appliances, and is imprisoned. After being released from prison into a dystopian society in which music itself has been criminalized, he lapses into insanity.” WK “Even though Zappa himself hated punk rock and even says so on the album, his ideas seemed to support punk’s do-it-yourself challenge to the record industry and to social norms in general.” AM The Execution “The narrative is long, winding, and occasionally loses focus; it was improvised in a weekend, some of it around previously existing songs, but Zappa manages to make most of it hang together.” AM It relied heavily on “previously recorded guitar solos transferred onto new, rhythmically different backing tracks to produce random musical coincidences.” AM The album also incorporates a number of musical styles.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Steve Huey WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 9/6/2025.

Rush 2112 released

2112 Rush

Released: April 1, 1976 Peak: 61 US, -- UK, 5 CN Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, -- UK, 3.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. 2112 [20:33] I: Overture [4:13] II: The Temples of Syrinx [2:16] III: Discovery [3:25] IV: Presentation [3:41] V: Oracle: The Dream [2:00] VI: Soliloquy [2:19] VII: Grand Finale [2:16] A Passage to Bangkok [3:34] The Twilight Zone [3:19] Lessons [3:52] Tears [3:34] Something for Nothing Total Running Time: 38:42 The Players: Geddy Lee (vocals, bass) Alex Lifeson (guitar) Neil Peart (drums)

Rating: 4.109 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Quotable: “Widely considered by Rush fans as their first true ‘classic’ album.” – Greg Prato, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Early Years Rush “formed in Toronto in the late ‘60s, treading a unique path somewhere between heavy metal and progressive rock, it came into its own when Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson replaced original drummer John Rutsey with Neal Peart, an Ontario native with amazing technical chops and a sharp intellect honed by voracious reading (though he was a high-school dropout). The trio made a huge leap forward musically and conceptually, with Peart stepping in as lyricist.” JD “Along with a fondness for science fiction and fantasy (‘By-Tor and the Snow Dog’), the drummer immediately emphasized his two favorite themes: individualism and the glory of the creative spirit.” JD Peart’s first album with the group, Fly by Night, and the band’s self-titled debut “helped create a buzz among hard rock fans worldwide, the more progressive third release, Caress of Steel, confused many of their supporters. The band knew it was now or never with their fourth release.” AM It was “a make-or-break album for the Canadian power trio sometimes dubbed as ‘the biggest cult band in the world.’” RD Peart said in his book Roadshow – Landscape with Drums – A Concert Tour by Motorcycle that after three albums which sold over 100,000 copies, the band was “urged to be ‘more commercial’ and write some ‘singles.’ So, in our contrarian fashion, we recorded and ambitious and impassioned sidelong piece about a future dystopia, along with a few other weird songs.” RJ-40 “They refused to bow to the demands of their record label and were determined to make the music they wanted to make.” RJ-40 The Crucial Fourth Album “1976’s 2112 proved to be their much sought-after commercial breakthrough and remains one of their most popular albums.” AM “Rush’s trademark sound – prog-meets-heavy rock – comes fully into its own on this record.” RD “Both styles are merged together to create an interesting and original approach.” AM “Heavier than Caress of Steel and yet still layered, 2112 was more relatable and accessible, whether at home in front of the stereo speakers or at a venue facing the full might of the band’s PA system.” RJ-42 “2112 is widely considered by Rush fans as their first true ‘classic’ album, the first in a string of similarly high-quality albums.” AM It was when Rush made “grand statements, where the lyrical ambition was matched by the musical muscle, and this Rush was never better than on 2112,” JD an album from the era of “bassist Geddy Lee’s original ‘Donald Duck on helium’ vocal style.” JD “Lee’s vocals are full of passion (though they’re admittedly an acquired taste), and the interaction of his melodic bass and Peart’s busy but propulsive drumming is astounding (think Keith Moon meets John Bonham while jamming with Charlie Mingus on speed). Meanwhile, Lifeson merges the musical invention of Yes’ Steve Howe with the hard-riffing gusto of Zep’s Jimmy Page.” JD Musical snobs continue to scoff at the hubris of Rush’s brand of progressive metal.” JD “Critics dismissed…[2112] as overblown and pretentious.” RD Even Peart has said, “Certainly there are a lot of people who hate all of our early records, and I would count myself among them,” Peart said in 1993. JD “Nevertheless, 2112 has a classic rock ‘n’ roll message and an emotional honesty that later Rush has never surpassed. The album stands as one rock’s greatest for anyone willing to put aside their preconceptions long enough to listen.” JD The Title Piece The title piece, 2112, fills the entire first side of the original LP. It “has stood the test of time well – a meticulously assembled opus that utilizes classical compositional technique to great effect.” RD “Comprised of seven ‘sections,’ the track proved that the trio was fast becoming rock’s most accomplished instrumentalists.” AM “From a sweeping introductory overture that touches upon all of the different moods and musical themes, the song swings into the hard-rocking introduction of the Priests, and then the beautiful, idyllic passage where Anonymous discovers the guitar. A Zeppelinesque contrast between light/dark and lilting/heavy prevails during the debate with the Priests before we enjoy a meditative soliloquy by our crushed hero. Finally, it all wraps up with the aptly titled ‘Grand Finale.’” JD Geddy said, “’2112’ is probably the most important thing we’ve ever written. Without that song, we would not have continued as a band.” RJ-41 The Story The piece “paints a chilling picture of a future world where technology is in control.” AM It “is an exquisitely well-written parable about a society on another planet.” JD “In the year 2062, a galaxy-wide war results in the union of all planets under the rule of the Red Star of the Solar Federation. By 2112, the world is controlled by the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx,” WK “the spiritual/political rulers…[who] subjugate the masses by tending to their physical needs” JD but denying them “self-expression and, by extension, free will or thought.” JD The Priests “determine the content of all reading matter, songs, pictures – every facet of life.” WK When a man discovers a guitar, he presents it to the Priests, naïvely thinking they “will hail his discovery and the incredible sounds he can make with it.” JD They destroy it on the grounds that this “dangerous artifact…contributed to the destruction of ‘the elder race’ (that would be us, back on earth).” JD The man goes into hiding, “despondent that he will never again know the joys of making music. Having tasted freedom, he cannot return to slavery, and he kills himself.” JD “As he dies, another planetary battle begins resulting in the ambiguous ending ‘Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control.’” WK The band don’t view the man as a martyr; instead Peart appears to condemn the man “for failing to fight on (as Rush itself fought on), instead taking the ‘easy way out’ a la Kurt Cobain and so many other rock stars.” JD The story “mirrored the band’s own frustration with the music business.” RD “It’s all pretty melodramatic. So is a lot of great literature! Go mock Homer for The Odyssey, why don’t ya? The underlying message is gripping nonetheless, and it’s made all the more powerful because it’s meant to be heard, not read on the page, where it’s separated from the incredibly moving music.” JD Ayn Rand In the album, Neil Peart credited Ayn Rand with the concept. She was “a Russian-born American novelist and creator of the philosophy Objectivism, wrote a novella entitled Anthem (itself adopted as the title of another Rush song, from the album Fly by Night) from which Peart borrowed the broad strokes of the plot.” WK She put forth the controversial idea that “the most talented individuals…put themselves down and live not for themselves but for the lowest common denominator of the ‘average’ man. “ JD She advocated that “the individual should follow his own path.” RD “Peart saw an obvious parallel between her main characters’ striving for independence in the face of a totalitarian regime and the band’s own predicament.” RJ-41 “Rush, like a lot of great rock bands, comes down on the side of the individual being all that he can be (to steal a good slogan from a completely inappropriate source).” JD The Logo “The now iconic album sleeve design [is] a naked man, alluding to the classical nude depictions of purity, faces the red pentagram of the Federation.” RJ-41 The image was adopted by fans as a logo for Rush in general. It was developed by Hugh Syme. WK The star represented the evil federation in the “2112” piece and the man was the hero. Rush would feature the logo on some of their subsequent albums. Beyond the 2112 Suite “Since the album is named after the suite it is sometimes described as a concept album. Technically it is not, as the songs on the second side are completely unrelated to the plot of the suite.” WK While they “do not match the accomplishments of the title track, they have some worthwhile musical moments.” JD Notes A 40th anniversary edition added a bonus disc with live versions of some of the songs and covers of 2112 songs performed by other artists. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

2112: I. Overture Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976), All the World’s a Stage (live, 1976), Chronicles (compilation, 1990), Retrospective I (compilation, 1997), The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits (compilation, 2003), Icon 2 (live, 2011), Rush 50 (box set, 2025) Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: “The band’s first instrumental track (discounting the Biblical quotation right at the close of the piece) is an absolute stormer! This piece [was] the last to be written for the overall composition.” RJ-43 Rush “take the classical music idea of an overture as a piece designed to get an audience’s attention and proceed to hit their listeners straight between the ears, laying out the musical landscape that is to come…‘Overture’ perfectly encapsulates what ‘2112’ is all about – loud, aggressive, precise and, above all, wondrously exciting music.” RJ-43 Hugh Syme, who designed the covers for Rush albums, also played on the album, specifically the ARP Odyssey synthesizer on the “Overture.” RJ-43 Geddy said, “We knew we wanted to start the song with a kind of sound that had the imagery of soaring through space, moving through time.” RJ-44

2112: II. The Temples of Syrinx Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: Feb. 1977 (single), 2112 (1976), All the World’s a Stage (live, 1976), Grace Under Pressure Tour (live, 1984), Chronicles (compilation, 1990), Retrospective I (compilation, 1997), The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits (compilation, 2003), Icon 2 (live, 2011), Rush 50 (box set, 2025) B side: “Making Memories” Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: “No other track captures the frustration and determination of Rush at this point in their career.” RJ-44 This is “the band’s heaviest track to date.” RJ-45 Furious and passionate, and one of the first songs to be written for the album, all three players pound their instruments to their limits.” RJ-44 However, “it is Lee’s vocal performance that astonishes the most.” RJ-45

2112: III. Discovery Rush

Writer(s): Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976) Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: At this point in the “2112” narrative, the protagonist finds an abandoned guitar in a cave and starts playing it. Alex Lifeson played the song on a Fender Stratocaster he borrowed from a friend. It was recorded with no edits or overdubs. RJ-45 Lifeson “gives a convincing impression of the situation the narrator finds himself in, soon constructing a pretty little instrumental…Lee’s gentle vocals bring the scene to life.” RJ-45

2112: IV. Presentation Rush

Writer(s): Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976), All the World’s a Stage (live, 1976), Icon 2 (live, 2011) Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: “A sonic blast of power chords, heavy bass and drums” RJ-45 signifies the appearance of the Priests. Lifeson throws “everything he’s got into his solo, including spectacular wah-wah pedal abuse, some rapid flurries of notes and a suitably anguished tone.” RJ-46

2112: V. Oracle – The Dream Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976) Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: This “is another change of place and pace with a deeply atmospheric, slow chord sequence, drenched in reverb reflecting the narrator’s dismay at the rejection” RJ-46 by the Priests when he presents them with the guitar. When he falls asleep, he “is transported into a dream of his planet’s history, an ancient, freer world constructed…[in] a time which, after the Priests have fallen from power, will come again.” RJ-46

2112: VI. Soliloquy Rush

Writer(s): Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976), All the World’s a Stage (live, 1976), Icon 2 (live, 2011) Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: The story returns to the cave where the narrator found the guitar. His “mood is one of deep despair, again using the sonic contrasts of quiet passages and savage distortion to describe his depressed state.” RJ-46

2112: VII. Grand Finale Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976), All the World’s a Stage (live, 1976), Icon 2 (live, 2011) Peak: 6 CL, 8 DF (as part of “2112”) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.63 streaming (as part of “2112”) About the Song: This is another instrumental to close out the “2112” suite. It “has a more optimistic feel due to its greater use of major chords. Its chugging nature and driving rhythm suggest a hoped-for, positive future.” RJ-46 Geddy said, “The ending of that story was purposely ambiguous. What happens in that ending is either liberation or the invasion of another totalitarian state. Its for the listener to decide which.” RJ-47

A Passage to Bangkok Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: 3/28/81 (single), 2112 (1976), Exit…Stage Left (live, 1981), Chronicles (compilation, 1990), Time Stand Still (compilation, 2010), Rush 50 (box set, 2025) Peak: 16 CL, 41 UK, 23 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 24.51 streaming About the Song: “The Middle Eastern-flavored A Passage to Bangkok” AM is a nod to the 1924 novel A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. RJ-47 The song is “about the marijuana trade” JD and “a tacit acknowledgement of the chemical assistance the band indulged in during the early stages of their recording career.” RJ-47 Musically, it is “a curious amalgam of heavy rock, tongue-in-cheek humor and catchy commerciality.” RJ-47 It “is fun, melodic, powerful, inventive,” RJ-47 and “has an upbeat feel within its driving rhythmic structure, appealing chorus, and a vague whiff of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ as an influence.” RJ-47

The Twilight Zone Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neal Peart Released: June 1976 (single), 2112 (1976), Icon (compilation, 2010) B side: “Lessons” Peak: 33 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.33 streaming About the Song: This “was a last-minute composition required to get the album’s running time up to an acceptable level.” RJ-47 It “is a musical imagining of an episode from the landmark sci-fi television series of the same name by Rod Serling.” RJ-48 “Like the show itself, this is the strangest track on the album; at times light-hearted, at other times heavily atmospheric and tense.” RJ-48 Producer Terry Brown called it “a little gem with a very strong lead guitar motif from Alex. Ged’s verse vocals are up in the stratosphere and then the chorus slips into an eerie flanged vocal that is in the ‘zone.’ This is all held together by Neil’s very concise, driving percussion closing with the airy guitar.” RJ-48

Lessons Rush

Writer(s): Alex Lifeson Released: June 1976 (B side of “The Twilight Zone”), 2112 (1976) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.76 streaming About the Song: “The opening recalls ‘Making Memories’ with its briskly strummed, major key, acoustic guitar introduction, relaxed bass and drums contributions. The chorus is a muscular affair of crashing power chords, aggressive drums, and a very active bassist thrashing out an excellent contrasting section of music.” RJ-48 “The music quietens for the second verse while maintaining its pace and energy already established. Another heavy chorus leads into a fabulous, grinding chord groove, with Lifeson again giving it his all, which continues as the mood switches back to the acoustic blend. This turns into a playout with the guitarist clearly enjoying himself as the song powers along into the fade.” RJ-48

Tears Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee Released: 2112 (1976) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.62 streaming About the Song: The 2112 album was the first to feature an outside musician. WK “Tears” was “the first Rush song to feature an outside musician.” WK Syme, who also designed the album logo, played on “Overture” and here contributed “a multi-tracked Mellotron string and flute part.” WK He would later do more keyboard work for the band. Unfortunately, Syme’s effort “turns this earnest, if somewhat mawkish, composition into a syrupy mush.” RJ-48 “The delicate introduction is pretty, and Lee sings his composition with sincerity, but by the time the chorus arrives, the Mellotron has assumed control of the mix, which spoils the overall effect.” RJ-49 “Simple guitars, sparse bass and gentle drums are all that’s needed to support the vocals.” RJ-49

Something for Nothing Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Neal Peart Released: 2112 (1976), All the World’s a Stage (live, 1976), Retrospective I (compilation, 1997), Rush 50 (box set, 2025) Peak: 18 CL, 25 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.48 streaming About the Song: Neal Peart developed the idea for this “album-closing rocker” AM from the phrase “Freedom isn’t free,” which he saw graffitied on a wall. WK Although it isn’t part of the “2112” suite, “Something for Nothing” is “a neat conclusion for the themes explored on side one.” RJ-49 “The words are straightforward, and the music is the same. The message to the listener is that the power and responsibility for improving their lives lies with themselves.” RJ-49 “Rush re-exert their aggressive energies and provides an anthem which, more than any other of their songs to date, exemplifies their approach to their craft.” RJ-49 “Something for Nothing” “rocks along magnificently with energy and attack. Lee’s voice is at times at the outer limits of his range, but he sings with a compelling conviction, especially when he gathers his strength for the coda chorus.” RJ-49

Resources/References: AM Greg Prato, AllMusic.com JD Jim DeRogatis (1/27/2002). “The Great Albums” RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 362. RJ Richard James (2024). On Track…Rush 1973-1982. Sonic Bond Publishing: United Kingdom. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 7/1/2011; last updated 6/17/2026.

 

Lou Reed Berlin released

Berlin Lou Reed

Released: October 5, 1973 Peak: 98 US, 7 UK, 51 CN, 59 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK Genre: rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Berlin [3:24] Lady Day [3:39] Men of Good Fortune [4:38] Caroline Says I [3:57] How Do You Think It Feels [3:42] Oh, Jim [5:14] Caroline Says II [4:13] The Kids [7:55] The Bed [5:51] Sad Song [6:55] Total Running Time: 49:23 The Players: Lou Reed (vocals guitar) Bob Ezrin, Steve Winwood (keyboards) Steve Hunter, Dick Magner (guitar) Jack Bruce (bass) Aynsley Dunbar (drums) Michael Brecker (tenor sax) Randy Brecker (trumpet)

Rating: 4.038 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: “The most ambitious album of his career” – Mark Deming, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album “Transformer and ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ were both major hits in 1972, to the surprise of both Lou Reed and the music industry, and with Reed suddenly a hot commodity, he used his newly won clout to make the most ambitious album of his career, Berlin.” AM Fans and critics who were “expecting another upbeat glam outing” WK did not respond well to “Reed’s most brutal work to date.” RD While it was a commercial disaster, “its gloomy atmospherics stirred a new generation of musicians. Less than a decade later, Joy Division’s Ian Curtis would be praised for creating the sort of dark imagery that had left Reed critically crucified.” RD Reed was disillusioned enough about the album’s reception that for years he rarely played any of the material live. WK The album is “the musical equivalent of a drug-addled kid set loose in a candy store.” AM Assisted by producer “Bob Ezrin at his most grandiose,” AM Reed crafts an album very different from the bulk of his work, fleshing out Berlin “with a huge, boomy production…and arrangements overloaded with guitars, keyboards, horns, strings, and any other kitchen sink that was handy.” AM He also assembled top flight session musicians including Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood, Aynsley Dunbar, and Tony Levin. “Instrumentally, Reed himself only contributes acoustic guitar,” WK which made for quite a change from the “superb use of the two-guitars/bass/drums lineup with the Velvet Underground.” AM Thematically, Reed was more adventurous as well. While he has “often been accused of focusing on the dark side of life, he and Ezrin approached Berlin as their opportunity to make The Most Depressing Album of All Time, and they hardly missed a trick.” AM Reed uses the songs to “form a loose story line about a doomed romance between two chemically fueled bohemians.” AM “The album chronicles the demise of a relationship between two Americans, Caroline and Jim, living in the divided German city.” RD As is often the case with concept albums, “a few of the songs are little more than sketches” AM but the highlights…are powerful, bitter stuff.” AM “The songs weave through infidelity (‘Caroline Says I’), drug abuse (‘How Do You Think It Feels’), and violence (‘Caroline Says II’), ending with Caroline’s suicide (‘The Bed’). Chillingly, Jim refuses to mourn his girlfriend’s death, and ‘Sad Song’ closes with the unsettling couplet, ‘I’m gonna stop wastin’ my time / Somebody else would have broken both her arms.’” RD The final assessment is that “it’s hard not to be impressed by Berlin, given the sheer scope of the project, but while it earns an A for effort, the actual execution merits more of a B-.” AM “The sheer size of Berlin ultimately overpowers both Reed and his material.” AM “But if Berlin is largely a failure of ambition, that sets it apart from the vast majority of Reed’s lesser works; Lou’s vocals are both precise and impassioned.” AM Notes In 2006, a live performance of the full album was captured and turned into a concert film and live album (Berlin: Live at St Ann’s Warehouse). The Songs Some of these songs originated as Velvet Underground songs (“Caroline Says II” as “Stephanie Says,” “Oh, Jim” as “Oh Gin,” “Sad Song”) and one (“Berlin”) was originally recorded by Reed for his first solo album. The other seven songs from this album are detailed below.

Lady Day Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Berlin (1973), Retro (compilation: 1989), Legendary (box set: 2002) Peak: 30 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.93 streaming About the Song: “This song, ostensibly an ode to Billie Holiday, the original ‘Lady Day,’ seems out of place among the components of the story behind the album.” ER-29 “Is this the true Lady Day of jazz legend herself, or is this Caroline, without Jim, reveling in a moment of risky liberation only to return to the now changing and suppressive mundanity of their union?” ER-30 Steve “Winwood’s lurking Hammond organ chords, the listener is told of a woman who passed by a bar and ‘…had to go in and sing.’” ER-29 “The track’s musical arrangement stands out for its complexity in odd ways.” ER-30

Men of Good Fortune Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Berlin (1973), Perfect Day (compilation: 1997), The Very Best of (compilation: 2000), Legendary (box set: 2002) Peak: 24 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.91 streaming About the Song: The Velvet Underground played Men of Good Fortune as early as 1966 WK but Reed’s version for Berlin is the first official recording and release of the song. The place of “this study of paternal dichotomy” ER-30 “within the narrative of Jim and Caroline is unclear; is Jim painfully studying his own origin with spiteful regret, or is this song much closer to home for its author?”< sup>ER-30 “A great deal of Lou’s lyrics…has centered around the concept of the ‘father wound;’ the inevitable friction and emotional upheaval that will…occur between father and son.” ER-30 Lou explores “a father’s or whole family’s disappointment in their son, and the heavy toll this takes.” ER-30 “Jack Bruce first makes his presence known on the LP with uncharacteristically restrained, yet still melodically busy and tonally fuzzy bass guitar.” ER-30

Caroline Says I Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: June 25 – July 29, 1973, at Morgan Studios in London and the Record Plant in New York Released: February 1974 (single), Berlin (1973), Between Thought and Expression (box set, 1992), Different Times: Lou Reed in the ‘70s (compilation: 1996), A Retrospective (compilation, 1998), Legendary (box set: 2002) Peak: 44 CL, 38 CO, 7 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.37 streaming About the Song: “Lou had a list of women who ‘said’ in his songs: Stephanie, Candy, Lisa, and now Caroline. It’s a neat literary trick that allows the singer or narrator to respond to another character’s impressions with their own first-person ideas. Here, Jim is lamenting Caroline’s many barbed tongue skewerings of his masculinity.” ER-31 “He believed that these storms could by duly weathered. Now, he is not so sure, but he will not throw in the towel.” ER-31 “Lou adds some real muscle to his vocals” ER-30 and “the orchestral flourishes and choral chords that uplift and round out the song to its conclusion add to its emotional fiber accordingly.” ER-31

How Do You Think It Feels Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: June 25 – July 29, 1973, at Morgan Studios in London and the Record Plant in New York Released: October 1973 (single), Berlin (1973), Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of (compilation: 1977), Retro (compilation: 1989), Between Thought and Expression (box set, 1992), The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground (compilation: 1995), Legendary (box set: 2002) Peak: 45 CL, 38 CO, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.27 streaming About the Song: “The album’s only true rock ‘n’ roll song, and it’s a greasy one.” ER-31 This is a “a seedy, slimy speed freak’s lament on all things speed freak.” ER-31 “The listener must ask, is this Jim? Is this Lou? Is this both of them in collage?” ER-31 It features “Aynsley Dunbar’s rumbling tom-tom and double bass drum thunder that ups the dramatic quotient just enough for Lou to step right in and attend to business.” ER-31 Then on Steve Hunter’s guitar solo, “he simultaneously honors the vocal melody while also saying something completely unique and vital at the same time.” ER-31 “As the song chugs along, we are treated to fat, balls-out bursts of horns that add a vitamin jolt of Stax/Volt urgency.” ER-31

The Kids Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: June 25 – July 29, 1973, at Morgan Studios in London and the Record Plant in New York Released: Berlin (1973), Between Thought and Expression (box set, 1992), NYC Man – The Ultimate Collection (compilation: 2003) Peak: 25 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.23 streaming About the Song: The Kids is “perhaps the most harrowing track on the album, or at the very least, it shares that honor with the next song.” ER-33 “Lou’s closely-mic’d voice casually utters a tale of a woman whose daughters have been taken away from her by the authorities.” ER-33 “Various one-line examples of this woman’s sexual promiscuity are lined up and addressed, as well as drug use, compounded by the fact that this woman had no compunction regarding the appropriate time or place for such interludes.” ER-33-4 The song “features the sounds of children shouting for their mother.” WK “Although deeply unsettling, [it] is a true masterstroke in effectiveness.” ER-34 “Oft-recycled rumor states that these are in fact Bob Ezrin’s children, who were brought to the studio and somewhat sketchily coaxed into their performance by being told that they would never see their mother again.” ER-34 “Musically, the song is excellent.” ER-34 “This largely acoustic number, strummed rhythm guitars and acoustic slide, joined by bass and drums, is despite its gentle instrumentation.” ER-33 “The opening strumming guitar sets up a rhythm that is shambling yet sure, ragged but right. Procol Harum’s BJ Wilson is on drums here, and his work is exemplary.” ER-34

The Bed Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Berlin (1973) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.91 streaming About the Song: “The pathos is unrelenting as we move from tragedy to tragedy.” ER-34 “The singer, presumably Jim, faces the ghastly task of assessing the before and after of the bedroom he shared with Caroline in the wake of her suicide. ‘This is the place where she lay her head’ and ‘This is the place where our children were conceived’ serve to record the singer taking grim stock of the history the room holds.” ER-35 “This song features yet another acoustic guitar intro, and Ezrin’s production must once again be celebrated here, as the plucked notes just soar and wave n the rich spacious sonic atmosphere that the producer has crafted. When Lou comes in, once again just barely above a whisper, his voices is another color added to the aural panoply.” ER-34 At the end, “the swirling voices and tones suggest perhaps Carolin’s spirit departing or the madness festering inside Jim’s mid at the time. It is a haunting end to a truly haunting song.” ER-35

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Mark Deming RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 293. ER Ethan Roy (2023). On Track…Lou Reed 1972-1986. Sonicbond Publishing: United Kingdom. WK Wikipedia.org Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/3/2011; last updated 9/10/2026.