My Amazon Reviews: James Lee Stanley and Cliff Eberhardt "All Wood and Doors"

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Morrison: A Fantasia
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Sometime in the mid 60's, a young James Morrison was walking along the Sunset Strip in California, frustrated that his musical aspirations were constantly hitting a brick wall. A girlfriend invited him out to the Canyon to rest and mellow out, and she mentioned that she had a few musician friends hanging out with her. Maybe Jim would like to meet them? He agreed and hitched a ride into the hills.

Once he was there, Jim's lady-friend introduced him to her friend Graham. Jim was familiar with The Hollies and told Graham that he liked his stuff. Would he liked to hear some of his own material? When Graham agreed, Jim picked up a guitar and began a frenzied version of "Break On Through." Graham smiles, he likes this young kid's assertiveness. Then he has an idea. "Jim," he says, "slow it down a bit and maybe add a shuffle to it?" Jim thinks a moment, works the chording out in his mind and plays it like Graham suggests. Both Jim and Graham light up; this arrangement sounds incredible. Telling Graham he has a ballad he really likes and thinks would be huge if people heard it, Jim strums the opening portion of "Light My Fire."

A friend of Graham's, Stephen, likes what he's been hearing from across the room. He picks up his guitar and began picking out some sliding, blues lines. Morrison follows Stephen's lead and bends the song into a slow, folky blues song. All three like what they hear. "What else have you got," asks Stephen. Jim, delighted, pulls out a notebook filled with poetry and opens it to "Riders On The Storm." As Jim begins to play, Stephen begins to improvise the vocal line. Graham is so stoked that he pulls his third friend, David, in to listen. By the end of few hours, the four of them decide to form a collaborative and call is CMNS, their initials in alphabetical order. Stephen hits the record button on his brand new home reel-to-reel and the four of them begin to capture the moment. They even work up an incredible harmony arrangement to take "The End" to a new level.

Well, OK, this never happened. But if it DID, then somehow, James Lee Stanley and Cliff Eberhardt  found the reels. Like James' collaboration with John Batdorf did to The Rolling Stones on "All Wood and Stones," James and Cliff take The Doors' classic repertory and folk it out. The duo have an all star guest list that includes Timothy B Schmit of The Eagles, Peter Tork of The Monkees, Paul Barrere of Little Feat, Laurence Juber (who has played with Paul McCartney & Wings), and Chad Watson on Bass. Even more remarkable is that Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger pitch in. It was even Densmore's suggestion to Stanley to take on The Doors after he'd heard "All Wood and Stones."

With the blessing of the two Door-keepers, James and Cliff deliver a diverse and delightful reading of classics like the aforementioned songs, as well as classics like "People are Strange," "Crystal Ship" and "Touch Me." I love the way that the pair interchange vocal duties. Cliff is gruff and hardy, James is clear and full. They make great harmonies and trade leads. The guitar playing is wonderful (and having seen James live, up close, I can attest to his guitar prowess), and is captured in rich tone. With both the exceptional musicianship and full endorsement of the original creators, "All Wood and Doors" is how cover albums should be done.

    

Updates

I am remiss. It has been about three months since my last letter to you and I apologize for that. It isn’t like there’s nothing to talk about, but I have a very difficult time getting motivated to communicate with anyone. So it’s not just you I’ve been laying low from, it’s everybody. It’s been almost six months since I’ve been laid off and I am finally getting my first job interview this week. To sell cars at the local Ford Dealership. Sheeesh.

While I have been doing my best to fend off the depression of sitting home all day and playing with the cat (when she wants to, anyway), I have been trying to find ways out of the current dilemma. Pennsylvania offers older unemployed types the opportunity to apply for grants towards retraining. They courses must be approved by Career Link (the division of PA Unemployment that offers the program) and you have to take multiple tests to qualify.

The tests are NOT easy. I felt like I was retaking my college SAT’s from Senior High School. It’s alarming how much you forget in 30 years of non-use. There were geometry problems that I was dumbstruck by. Fortunately, you’re given take-home sample tests to give you an inkling of what you’re in for when the official tests are given. Let’s face it; it’s been a long time since I even thought about how one determines the volume of a sphere (which was one of the questions).

From what my advisor tells me, I’ve passed the tests. Next up is being interviewed by the State Official who gives out the ultimate money. This is also a tricky thing, because this grant program is a one-time-only deal. If you get the grant, take the course but don’t pass, you don’t get a second shot at the money. While I am looking at taking a Computer Network Administration course, I have to be prepared to study hard, because I won’t get a second bite at this particular apple. Joel tries to be helpful, but he is beginning to fray at the edges. It’s difficult for him to be patient, and he has a tendency to argue loudly if he thinks circumstances are not what he believes they should be.

In other news, we took another jaunt to California. (Earlier Picture Here.) Joel has decided that, since I have no schedule conflicts, he can just plan trips whenever he wants. The trip was to Northern CA to a camp out run by the 15 Association, a group similar to Delta or Inferno. While there, I started one of my long-wished for projects; a biography of a former NYC Motorcycle Cop and Leatherman. It’s been a dream project of mine ever since having met the man a few years ago at IML.

In other family news: My Dad is still recovering nicely. However, a cousin on his side of the family has been stricken with MRSA, and nearly lost his life to it. As it is, he lost his leg and has been in a variety of hospitals, moving from facility to facility since late April. A slight benefit of being out of work has been that I’ve taken time to drive to wherever his current treatment location is for visits. It takes over 90 minutes to the nearest of the hospitals he’s been in, so these are trips I plan the day around. He obviously appreciates the visits, as we tend to talk for hours on each occasion. And I don't think I've ever posted a shot of the old man here before, so here's my Father.

 

PS – I figured it’s been awhile since I sent a Sophie Cat Picture

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