ray jackson interview - "maggie may"

[billkilpatrick]

nice close-up of the bat. he really must have ##### off our roddy ...

[Eddie Sheehy]

At that time Ray and Lindisfarne were bigger than Rod ( with or without the Small Faces).

[Mike Bromley]

15 pounds sterling. Yikes.

:crying:

[billkilpatrick]

At that time Ray and Lindisfarne were bigger than Rod ( with or without the Small Faces).

churlish behavior on wee roddy's part, wouldn't you say? ... "small feces" might be more appropriate.

[journeybear]

Also read the article (http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_00938.shtml) hereabouts by Bill Graham. Nice piece. I do believe there was a lawsuit threatened just a few years ago, don't know if a settlement was reached. Seems to me he might be entitled to royalties as composer of that riff.

Me, I liked seeing the performance with The Faces. If I recall correctly, the only Face on the track was Ron Wood. Of course for the broadcast they're just clowning around, but it was a generous gesture on Rod's part to get his old mates on the telly. I understand they weren't too happy about him leaving the band ...

Eddie - you're probably right about that, in Britain for sure. Lindisfarne didn't get much airplay in the US. I was already loving "Gasoline Alley," though. The title cut had some lovely mandolin work (wonder who played that, hmm?), also some great slide work from Ron Wood on that and also "Lady Day," an insanely funky version of Hoyt Axton's "Cut Across Shorty," and amazingly sloppy but fun versions of the R&B songs "It's All Over Now" and "You're My Girl" that recalled The Faces at their best - great album with no single, as far as I know. The success of "Every Picture Tells A Story" and "Maggie May" was well deserved but didn't come from out of the blue, as far as I was concerned. Funny thing, though - the single ("Reason To Believe") was the last song on the album, not the first, as is the custom. And we all know "Maggie May" was the B side, yes? :cool:

By the way, I don't know exactly why Rod didn't mention Ray Jackson's name in the credits, but I suspect he was just being funny. For all I know Ray was the most well-known British mandolinist in rock at the time - there weren't that many - and a lot of Brits recognized him. Rod wrote the liner notes himself, and they were pretty droll. On one of those albums he said about Ron Wood something like "and hey girls, he's quite good-looking." I imagine Ron got a bit of play out of that! ;) But nobody expected this album and single to have the success they did, and in retrospect Rod may have felt a bit sheepish about what he'd done. Then again, he may well have forgotten the lad's name, and didn't think it a big deal. He'd been paid, after all, and it was time to finish off the liner notes so the album could go to the printer. It made for a memorable story, though, didn't it? :)

[billkilpatrick]

great article ... i checked out ray's web-sites ... it appears that he paints vintage buses(!?)

for eccentricity - mild or otherwise - absolutely no one can top the brits - bless 'em.

[Martin Jonas]

Ray's mandolin playing is great! He's currently playing (on and off) with all-star folk/rock outfit "The Gathering" (aka "Legends of folk/rock") which also has Jerry Donahue, Rick Kemp, Clive Bunker, Doug Morter, Mike Piggott and Kristina Donahue. For a recent clip of his singing and mandolin playing check this new version of an old Lindisfarne classic:

Lady Eleanor (2007) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcWlvdh5zug)

That song has always had a great mando riff, here played on the Harmony batwing that Ray used to play in the mid to late 70s in Lindisfarne, as in this nice 1978 clip of the same song (here sung by the song's author Alan Hull, much missed):

Lady Eleanor (1978) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cIMRaNujLA)

These days, Ray plays an Ovation instead -- I believe the Batwing wasn't so great on playability although it does sound nice.

Martin

[NickAlberty]

Wow......what a great story. Who'da thunk it?

[billkilpatrick]

he really must have ##### off our roddy ...

... sorry, mike. i think you spell "######-off" with six #'s ... but not to worry. howz about "vexed?"

[Mike Bromley]

I was already loving "Gasoline Alley," though. The title cut had some lovely mandolin work (wonder who played that, hmm?), also some great slide work from Ron Wood on that and also "Lady Day," an insanely funky version of Hoyt Axton's "Cut Across Shorty," and amazingly sloppy but fun versions of the R&B songs "It's All Over Now" and "You're My Girl" that recalled The Faces at their best - great album with no single, as far as I know. :cool:

That was one of my all-time fave abums! Grotty, funky, messy, chaotic, delightful.


... sorry, mike. i think you spell "######-off" with six #'s ... but not to worry. howz about "vexed?"

Now Bill, stop being a ####-disturber, OK?:))

[mandocrucian]

I was already loving "Gasoline Alley," though. The title cut had some lovely mandolin work (wonder who played that, hmm?),

Stanley Matthews

Ray Jackson also played mandolin on "Farewell" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man" on Rod's Smiler album

NH

[journeybear]

Thanks! Sometimes I miss my LP collection, where I can find all this wonderful if somewhat noodly information in the liner notes. Can't find it on the interweb.

Interesting that Ray played for Rod again. Perhaps he wasn't as miffed as we think? I do hope he was better paid that time! :grin:

[journeybear]

BTW & FWIW - The Faces' keyboard player, Ian McLagan, is going to be on Letterman Tuesday, June 16th. NYK.

[Rick Schmidlin]

Great clip,at present I am working on a version of Maggie May and and almost have it down. I was a big fan of this album in the day. Maybe America's biggest Rod Stewert fan in the day.

Have I revealed to much?

[Schlegel]

Whenever this song comes on the the radio my mom tells how it was playing on the radio as she brought me home from the hospital after I was born.

[Eddie Sheehy]

BTW & FWIW - The Faces' keyboard player, Ian McLagan, is going to be on Letterman Tuesday, June 16th. NYK.

Have to catch that, I haven't seen "Mac" in years...

[Eddie Sheehy]

I was a fan of Rod's back in the day... when he sang oin the Jeff Beck album - Truth. Jimmy Page also played on that one. Rod did an outstanding rendition of "Old Man River"... then he went teeny-bop pop.

[banJoe]

The current (summer) issue of FBJ has an interesting bit about Ray. He stopped persuring the lawsuit for reasons he wouldn't expain.

[Dan Hoover]

interesting thread..i never knew this...i always thought that the credit on the album was a joke referring to ron woods..who also is a mean mandolin player..the only (old-rod) lp i have is "never a dull moment"..did have a couple 8-tracks back then..remember???i looked,nothing there..so,my wife bought a greatest hits called "Gold" a couple years ago..has to have a cd in her car..mr.jackson is listed on it..looks like he's getting his long over due credit....
it says "gasoline ally" lp mandolin playing is credited to stanley matthews..i need to read more...including music...

[billkilpatrick]

I was a fan of Rod's back in the day... when he sang oin the Jeff Beck album - Truth. Jimmy Page also played on that one. Rod did an outstanding rendition of "Old Man River"... then he went teeny-bop pop.

i was gonna' say ...

as i recall it (through the smokey-haze of history) that jeff beck album was perfection.

[journeybear]

The current (summer) issue of FBJ has an interesting bit about Ray. He stopped persuring the lawsuit for reasons he wouldn't expain.

I've got a feeling they reached a settlement out of court that includes a no-disclosure claus. I don't believe Rod was really trying to screw Ray out of anything, just having a little joke at his expense, and probably feels bad it caused any hard feelings. As someone else mentioned, he's being credited on more recent releases, so that's good. Anyway, it's one of the most enduring liner notes oddities of all time, If Rod had remembered Ray's name, that never would have happened!


Have to catch that, I haven't seen "Mac" in years...

He shows up from time to time, as a sideman, natch. Also has always been busy with session work. His name shows up in credits. ;)


as i recall it (through the smokey-haze of history) that jeff beck album was perfection.

Yeah, the first two Jeff Beck albums were outstanding, but "Truth" was really something else. His version of "Morning Dew" rivalled The Dead's, "I Ain't Superstitious" is brilliant, and "Beck's Bolero" is one of the all-time rock instrumental classics. Ron Wood playing bass - how insane is that, for a guitarist that good to be given a supporting role? And let's not forget Mickey Waller on drums, who did such outstanding work on Rod's solo albums.

I think I saw them, at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1969 (http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/july-6-1969)(blaming the "smokey-haze of history" for my doubt). I mean I did see the Jeff Beck Group, but I couldn't tell you who was in it, though I'd like to believe it was Rod, Ron, and Mickey. I didn't make it to Woodstock, but a month before that the NJF tried having rock acts for the first time. They had had blues before, but this was the first time for rock. On Friday night, if I recall correctly, I saw Jeff Beck, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He blew the roof off the place - and it was outdoors! Johnny Winter and Led Zeppelin were on Sunday night. They had the same gatecrashing problems that would show up at Woodstock, so they didn't have rock in 1970. They did again in 1971, with Zep again, and more trouble, so that was it for rock there. That was really unnecessary, as there was a hill behind the seating area where you could sit and listen for free, which is what I did.

Oh wow - since the last time I looked for info on this, people have been busy:

Now for your perusal ... (http://www.tapecity.org/showthread.php?t=2942)

Jeff Beck Group 1969-07-04 16th annual Newport Jazz Festival
Location: 16th annual Newport Jazz Festival Newport, RI
Date: 1969-07-04
Source: Aud

1. I Ain't Superstitious
2. You Shook Me
3. Plynth
4. Rice Pudding
5. The Sun Is Shining >
6. Rock My Plimsoul
7. Shapes Of Things
8. Beck's Boogie

Jeff Beck
Ron Wood
Rod Stewart
Tony Newman

[Jill McAuley]

Stanley Matthews

Ray Jackson also played mandolin on "Farewell" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man" on Rod's Smiler album

NH


Bit of trivia here - Stanley Matthews was a legendary English footballer way back in the day. It's also well known that Rod Stewart is a big football supporter....


Cheers,
Jill

[journeybear]

Just a gentle reminder:

7/24 3 PM EDT VH1 Classics BBC Crown Jewels: The Faces (no MC)
For everyone who has expressed affection for The Faces, here's a chance to see them in action, back in the day ...