The old folk have got it going on

by RICK KANE

ROCK'n'ROLL centres, primarily, on several things: youth, sex and dancing. In fact, 'the term "rock and roll", was black slang for dancing or sex' (Wikipedia). The rise of rock'n'roll occurred almost concurrently with the development of a teenage culture, firstly in the USA and then across the western world. So, whether it's Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) being squeezed until the juice runs down his leg, little Elvis asking about the 'Mystery Dance' or Britney Spears saying 'Ops, I Did it Again', the audience knows pretty well what they're saying. I might jus add, the audience is not likely to imagine it is a friend of their mum or dad singing these not so subtle innuendos.

dylan stuff

Just what do old rock folks have on their minds. Photo by Les Everett.

Lately, I have started to discern a shift of sorts. It is nothing that dramatic that we need bring in big gun term like paradigmatic, but a shift none the less. I first raised an eyebrow when Loretta Lynn got together with Jack White (he, of The White Stripes) for the record 'Van Lear Rose'. One song in particular, 'Portland, Oregon', is just dripping with sex. The friction in this otherwise appealing set up is that a 70-year-old woman is singing a duet with a 20-something guy about two barflys in a two bit bar getting tanked and getting it on. Not that there is anything wrong with that. And the song is a ripper. And one can't help but enjoy the reversal of the old man/younger woman cliche. Still, at the bottom of all that ruminating is a 70-year-old woman singing about getting it on.

If that was a one-off then it might just have been a curious anomaly. But it seems the old folk really have got it going on. There is probably a mathematical equation to demonstrate in a graph/piechart/powerpoint kindaway when, to the calibrated moment that we started making jokes about the type and size of underwear being hurled (or gently placed) on to any stage where Tom Jones might be performing, these other older performers started to let it all hang out. Take Emmylou Harris, who turns 60 this year, for example. She released a record last year with the youngster, Mark Knopfler. 'All The Roads Running' was a frisky, galloping affair, which saw the couple reminiscing and playful and the songs simmering with sexual tension. That has been part of Emmylou's milieu her whole career. It seems as she gets older the sexual tension increases. Oh, yeah baby.

Then there is Bob Dylan, in his 60s, on his latest record, 'Modern Times', where he sounds like he is evoking the 30s and 40s, he is as brash and boastful as a young bull. Here are just a couple of couplets from an album brimming with vim and brio.

"I got troubles so hard, I can't stand the strain/ Some young lazy slut has charmed away my brains."

'I've been sitting down studying the art of love/ I think it will fit me like a glove."

"You think I'm over the hill/ You think I'm past my prime/ Let me see what you got/ We can have a whoppin' good time."

So, who is the last man standing? No, it aint Axel Rose. It's The Killer, Jerry lee Lewis. He is 71-years-old and on his latest record he sings songs like 'Pink Cadillac' (which is a euphemism, by the way), 'Rock and Roll' (one of the lyrics goes something like this: "open your arms, baby, let my love come running in"), and 'Twilight' (a reflective view of a relationship).

My favourite, however, is his version of the Beatles classic, 'I Saw Her Standing There', which he sings with Little Richard. The version pumps. His voice, wiser than the teenage McCartney, is, um, a little too assured. The hard part of the song is hearing The Killer sing "she was just 17". If he sang, "she was just 67" maybe it would sound cool. I'm not suggesting the song is in any way dirty old manish, let alone pedophiliac. The song is more a reflection of a by-gone era. And that is what Jerry Lee is celebrating. A youth remembered. The fact that he sounds like he is still full of spunk is what makes the song and the singer reverberate. In this rendition he epitomizes the history and engine of rock'n'roll. How? Though a song, by arguably the greatest band ever, a duet with one of the great innovators and the most primal of themes; youth, sex and dancing. In doing so, he reminds us, because, by Madonna, we need reminding, that rock'n'roll, ain't noise pollution and it certainly ain't gonna die.

14 April 2007

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