I began January with the creation of r0ck bl0gster ("Rock Blogster" spelled with the numeral "0" in place of the o's). Ten days later, Jeff Beck passed away, and I made a vow to particularly try seeing seeing aging guitar greats perform while I still could. I couldn't have known that the first musician that I'd see in 2023 would not make it to 2024. So I'll take this opportunity to remember Denny Laine and express my gratitude for seeing him on his last trip around the sun.
I first developed a strong appreciation for the work Paul McCartney recorded with Wings in 2002 when Paul's "Driving USA Tour" came through Boston. My local "classic rock" station was celebrating his arrival by playing his whole life's work alphabetized. As an avid X-Men reader during the Grant Morrison era, imagine my enthusiasm when I heard "Magneto & Titanium Man". A Beatle wrote a fanfic narrative about the Marvel characters Magneto, Titanium Man, and Crimson Dynamo planning a bank heist (which sounds very "Silver Age" storywise). Within the limitations of my family's America Online access, I looked up the album, and was that peculiar high school junior (in 2002) who was particularly drawn to the "Venus & Mars" album. I was already a comic book reader (before "geek chic" trended) who studied theoretical physics and Georgia O'Keeffe's art. I could have only stood out more at my all boys high school if the 70's album I fixated on happened to instead be the Runaways' "Queens of Noise". You know, granted that for 40-something years, the American broadcast market rarely gave much exposure to Lita Ford and Joan Jett's earliest work. In 2005, I finally got my eyes on the Wings Over America live show through a new site called "www.YouTube.com". By this point, TK99 (Syracuse, NY's home for classic rock and Orange sports event broadcasts) had turned me on to additional rarities and I was infusing my art school assignments with influences from all over the time stream. Visually interpreting Sweetwater's "Crystal Spider" into an illustration, I first explained to the adjunct professor that the art palette is "very Lisa Frank". It was on YouTube that I saw Paul, Linda, Denny, and their band performing "Magneto & Titanium Man" with a projection of the characters in the background. They even got to meet comics icon Jack Kirby and his wife when the tour reached California in some mid-70's astrological alignment. Watching videos from Wings Over America I got an understanding of chemistry in the band. Especially between the consistent core trio of Paul, Linda, and Denny. That isn't to put down the contributions of Jimmy McCulloch, Laurence Juber, or other bandmates. I just feel that the three members who were in the band for the whole of the Wings ten year run may have best embodied the collective vibe of the Wings identity.
Cut to 2023, I'm scrolling through the calendar of the City Winery's upcoming shows, and saw a Denny Laine show coming up called "Songs and Stories". Ever since the 2022 Clapton show, I had been coordinating opportunities to share concerts with work friends, and I tried explaining to one friend the significance of being able to see Denny Laine live. His name wasn't as high profile as McCartney's or Jagger's but he did in fact play a strong role in the British Invasion. After an increasingly drunk audience member expressed not wanting to take his coat off the seat I had arranged to sit at (transphobia was just one of his problems), my friend and her husband welcomed me to sit at their table. Like a quiet backstage Angus Young, I went to a restaurant where a wine list is emphasized and politely just asked for a cup of Twinings tea. Whether or not Denny Laine knew that his health was declining, the rock star spent a good amount of time telling stories from his life well lived. Spanning the length of his career, these were stories that included drinking haphazardous punch out of a bathtub, partying with Yardbirds, meeting Jimmy Hendrix, and touching base with Sir Paul during the COVID-19 lockdown. When a few of his friends found themselves member of the ill fated "27 Club", it's a wonder that Denny lived this long, and it was our privilege to hear his firsthand recounts.
One may say that it was out of modesty that most of the songs from the February 9th show were covers depicting the moments in rock & roll history that Denny had been a part of. The musician inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with two bands drew from his time in the Moody Blues when leading the room in a communal pub song variant of "Go Now!". I honestly wasn't too familiar with the Moody Blues' music when I stepped into the restaurant that night, but whether it was "Boulevard de la Madeleine" or solo compositions like Davy's Rag I sat back and enjoyed what Denny brought to that night's show. He then played songs from Wings albums, and closed with a singalong of "Band on the Run".
Normally, I'd conclude talking about such a setlist on that note (pun intended), but in light of Laine's passing as I think that "Below the Waterline" has an even more significant part in my loopback. The phrase is a figure of speech that refers to what's in the public eye of a ship and what isn't. It is like how when looking at an iceberg, its buoyancy largely because of ice to far down to be seen. Denny dedicated the song to his longtime friend McCartney. In the context of Laine reflecting on their friendship, this song stands as an open letter Paul, honoring friendship as a whole. However revealing Denny's stories of the evening were, "Below the Waterline" demonstrates parts of his life and relationships that were significant, put understandably recognized as private. Along with sharing the beauty of the song as a piece of music, Denny instead encouraged and us to recognize and honor everything beneath the surface.
So thank you Denny Laine. For your music, for your impact on the larger music community, for the stories that you lived to share, and for the stories that rest below the waterline.
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