Peter Case: The Album I Own Three Times
- Blair Morgan
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
I first found Peter Case by accident, which still seems the right way to find him.
It was the mid-1980s, and I was reading the album review section in the Christchurch Star, the Christchurch evening newspaper . The review was about R.E.M's Life's Rich Pageant , the follow up to Fables of the Reconstruction, an album that rarely left the turntable. For the review following REM it was mentioned that a great opening act for REM would be ..
Peter Case.
Peter who? All I knew was that there was another record to find, another voice to hear, somewhere beyond the radio playlists . Needless to say both the REM album and Peter Case, the debut solo album by Peter Case became essential listening for years.
A record collection built one format at a time
By the time the Peter Case album entered the picture, music came home in whatever form I could afford or find. Cassettes - you could carry them in a jacket pocket, play them in the car, lend them to a friend, or wear them down . Second hand vinyl - you held the sleeve, read the credits, studied the art work, and lowered the needle like a small ritual.
But then CDs arrived with their bright promise of clarity. For a while, they seemed almost unreal. Vinyl was dropped and CDs were often purchased as replacements for things I already owned, because hearing the same album in a new format felt like a new experience.
Peter Case's music suited that kind of listening. His songs could survive a worn cassette, a second-hand LP with a few scratches, or the clinical edge of a compact disc. Hence owning the Peter Case album in three formats. The song was the thing and on the Peter Case album the songs contained stories and musicianship that defied belief. Producer T-Bone Burnett, Legendary drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist Mike Campbell from Tom Petty's band, the great singer/songwriter John Hiatt, chief Byrd Roger McGuinn and arranger Van Dyke Parks to name a few.
There are so many classics on this album. "I Shook His Hand" a rollicking song built around a fleeting encounter with a JFK like political figure and the sense of lost promise. "Small Town Spree" , a miniature crime story delivered through a stinging acoustic guitar riff , harmonica and a surreal string arrangement from Van Dyke Parks.
Then there was the Grammy nominated "Old Blue Car", a blues stomp duet with T Bone Burnett with Jim Keltner to the fore. Not forgetting "Icewater" based on a Lightning Hopkins riff , "Satellite Beach" inspired by real cross country trips Case was doing involving U Haul vehicles and "Pair of Brown Eyes", introduced pre The Pogues version with trademark chiming 12 string electric guitar by McGuinn.
Before the solo records, there was electricity..
I came to Case as a solo artist first, then worked backwards. A used record store in Christchurch had an extensive collection of Case's earlier bands The Plimsouls and The Nerves. The proprietor told me, as I was begging for him to make me a compilation tape (which he did!) , that the Peter Case album was like a comparison between Woody Guthrie and the The Knack and he was right.
The Nerves - Most people who know one song connected to that band know “Hanging on the Telephone”, later made famous by Blondie. But hearing The Nerves after knowing Case’s solo work reveals something else. You can hear the urgency -real nerves indeed!
Then there were The Plimsouls, when power pop was coming to the fore (anyone remember anything by Cheap Trick?). “A Million Miles Away” has the most plays but I will always go for "Now" , where Case goes full John Lennon circa A Hard Days Night over three glorious minutes.
Through these early bands, Case had been learning how to make songs move. He had worked with volume, hooks, speed, and the pressure of a band. When he stepped into his solo career, his acoustic guitar became the spark plug.
The 1986 Peter Case album also sits in an interesting place in time. It came after the new wave and power pop years, but before Americana became a thing. Case was not chasing a fashion. He was making something that drew from folk, blues, rock and street-corner storytelling without dressing itself up as heritage.
San Francisco in the songs and stories
Yes before the record deals and reviews, there were the San Francisco busking years. Case arrived in the city in the early seventies and began street performing.
In Case’s accounts of those years, San Francisco is a cast of characters. Those figures reappear, transformed, in particular songs on the follow up to Peter Case , The Man with the Blue Post Modern Fragemented Neo Traditionalist Guitar (ok everyone just called this Blue Guitar !). Case writes with a feeling for people living close to the edge of luck none more so than "Entella Hotel", a seedy hotel still there today in downtown San Francisco . But there are other glances back to his busking days , "Charlie James" a traditional blues that kicks off the album, "Travellin Light" and "Rise and Shine".
The stellar line up was paired back compared with Peter Case but it included the great David Hildago from Los Lobos and Ry Cooder guesting on "Entella Hotel".
At the record store I worked at , we threw everything into this album , even hoovering up all the record company stock and having a huge picture window painted of the Blue Guitar album cover. We must have sold five copies at the most but it was fun.
Never a household name
From here Case's record label Geffen , decided to throw some effort behind the next release Six Pack of Love , bringing the Crowded House producer Mitchell Froom onboard and mining a more pop vein and a nod back to power pop.
Needless to say this backfired, despite a name check from Bruce Springsteen over the track "Beyond the Blues" , this was the last throw of the dice from Geffen - both Peter Case and Blue Guitar had sold poorly and Case found himself without a record deal.
Case returned to the solo folk troubadour and consistently released solo albums , touring solo and occasionally reuniting with The Plimsouls.
The road keeps lengthening
I sometimes think about that earlier version of myself reading the Christchurch Star, alert to any sign that one band might lead to another, that one review might open a door. Wanting music required patience, luck, and a willingness to follow occasional signals.
Peter Case rewarded that kind of pursuit. Lifes Rich Pageant indeed.
Postscript - further discovery
For a deeper dive into the career of Peter Case via five unforgettable songs, hear our recent episode of "The Real Americana with Louise & Blair" - Who is Peter Case?
#PeterCase #BlueGuitar #ThePlimsouls #TheNerves #REM #LifesRichPageant #HangingOnTheTelephone #Now #SmallTownSpree
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