A tribute to Storm Thorgerson

The blog you're reading right now wasn't meant to be "just" a place for obituaries.  But lately, it seems, there have been too many deaths involving too many key figures in music -- both performers and those behind the scenes -- to ignore.

Storm Thorgerson is among the great names in the music world.  Again -- just like with the recent death of producer/engineer Andy Johns -- you might not know the name unless you're a die-hard audiophile who's spent a lot of time looking at album covers, checking out the credits, and you see certain names repeatedly.

Thorgerson -- a part of the graphic design studio Hipgnosis -- died Thursday at age 69 of complications from cancer.  He had been battling health issues since suffering a stroke in 2003.

Thorgerson was a unique artist, which helped him to fit in well at Hipgnosis.  Photographers (like me) have greatly appreciated his work through many years of looking at album covers and jackets.  It didn't involve "typical" photography.  It was work that you could sit in front of and examine for the entire time it would take to listen to the music that went along with it.  It was mind-bending ... just like a lot of the music that went along with it.

Thorgerson and music.  It was a perfect match.

Thorgerson himself said it best.

"I like photography because it is a reality medium, unlike drawing which is unreal. I like to mess with reality ... to bend reality. Some of my works beg the question of is it real or not?"

 Now's a good time to remember just some of Thorgerson's art, and some of the music that went with it.  What a legacy he's leaving behind.  Wish he was here.

Time to remember the hands in the studio

Andy Johns died Sunday at the age of 61.  An official cause of death hasn't been released yet, but it's been reported that he was hospitalized last week with liver problems.

Andy Johns

Any music fans who've spent a considerable amount of time reading through the credits while listening to some of the greatest tunes in rock history will know the name Andy Johns.  He engineered and produced some of the classic songs and albums to have ever been recorded in popular music by some of the giants -- The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Humble Pie, Free, Van Halen, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Steve Miller, on and on.

"Exile On Main Street."  "Sticky Fingers."  Led Zeppelin IV.  "Houses of the Holy."  "Physical Graffiti."  "Shadows and Light."  "Stand Up."  The list of albums boasting Andy Johns' name as an engineer or producer is long, as it's been with his brother Glyn.  These are the names that rock music fans remember, especially among the hard-core audiophiles.  They're the ones parked between the speakers or with headphones slapped on their ears, digging not just the quality of the music being played but the quality of the sound being brought out from their musical heroes -- coming from the producer who's a "jack of all trades" and who knows how to coax the best out of the musicians, and the engineer who knows how to record it all in pristine condition.

That's the kind of thing Andy Johns did.  He may not have had the face or the name that so many people would recognize.  Nevertheless, music fans owe him a big "thank you."

 His work is worth remembering.  It's too bad we can't go through it all, but it would take too long.

Kickin' Tail and Takin' Names Week: The mighty Zep

This is a week for music so powerful, it has a kind of force that can knock you out just thinking about it.  It's relentless.  It can stick with you for a lifetime.

To start it off, I'll turn to a band that's been on a "high" lately and has never really faded away in the hearts, minds, and ears of so many classic rock fans even though it ceased to exist as a full-blown group with the death of its "heartbeat" -- drummer John Bonham -- in 1980.

John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham

Of course, I'm talking about that force of nature known as Led Zeppelin.

It's not every band that can get together for a huge one-off concert at London's O2 Arena the way Zep did in December 2007, and have the official film of the event -- Celebration Day -- become so highly anticipated when it appeared in theaters and on home video nearly five years later.  They may have been missing John Bonham's powerful drums, but not by an awful lot.  John's son Jason makes for a very worthy fill-in for his father.

And, let's be "blunt" here.  Back in the late '60s, when the Zep was launched, how many people would have predicted that Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones -- the surviving members -- would be standing in the finest attire, looking all spiffed up, to receive the Kennedy Center Honors, as they did on Sunday?  The celebration continued the following Monday night with an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman.

 
It's all most definitely a "high" for a bunch of rowdies who've been rocking people's worlds for years.  It is cause to celebrate.

Taking a closer look at Zep's "discreet" member

Be honest.  When you think of Led Zeppelin, how much more often do you think of the more flamboyant ways of vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, and the monster style of drummer John Bonham before bass/mandolin/keyboard player John Paul Jones even comes to your mind?

John Paul Jones  (Photo credit:  Wikipedia)

But when you think of Led Zeppelin, where would they have been without JPJ giving his powerful bass style to tunes like "Ramble On" and "The Lemon Song," or "Immigrant Song."  On a song like "Black Dog," it wouldn't have been the same without Jones helping out with the changing time signatures.

On keys, he gave the band extra flavor on "The Rain Song," "Trampled Under Foot," and "No Quarter."

It could be said that Jones was the most versatile member of Led Zeppelin, and only a few might argue with that.  It began with tons of session work that led up to his role in Zeppelin, and even after the band broke apart following Bonham's death in 1980, it seems he's been busier than ever composing, playing seemingly any instrument he can get his hands on, doing production work, and appearing with artists from the Foo Fighters to Diamanda Galas, Them Crooked Vultures to Seasick Steve ... the list is long.

He just seems to do it all so ... discreetly.  Just like he did "back in the day" when Led Zeppelin ruled the rock world.

Never underestimate the man.

When the rain comes ...

Don't take this as trying to be "cute" in a very serious situation.  I'm sending out best wishes today to the people on America's East Coast, who are now being or are about to be affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Millions of Americans over a huge path -- even far inland -- are expected to feel the impact of this historic storm in one way or another.  Here's a Crossover Music Channel wish that our friends over there stay safe, as dry as possible, and that the effects aren't too devastating.

Beach goers watch waves generated by Hurricane Sandy.  (Photo Credit ABC News)