Though I could easily go on and on with the bluegrass instrumental cuts, in the interests of keeping the Ultimate Playlist a little more exciting (I know you are having the BEST time reading this right now), I'm going to shift gears a little bit with the next few tracks. So I hope you enjoy this Memorial Day track, and coming soon to a pretentious music blog near you: various artists covering Bob Dylan songs.
I first introduced Railroad Earth to the Ultimate Playlist with Track 19 "Seven Story Mountain." I did a handful of stories on them during my freelance days and they are hands-down my favorite band that my hand-to-mouth writing days introduced me to. The New Jersey sextet (one of the few bright spots in NJ's history) is just fantastic--mixing bluegrass, folk and rock with some worldly influences (Celtic, Indian), and the improvisational nature of a jam band. Think of them as The Band meets "American Beauty"-era Grateful Dead meets Bob Dylan meets a pile of bluegrass instruments.
The presence of a drummer immediately makes Railroad a little atypical for a bluegrass band, but the band can absolutely pick. And Todd Sheaffer's lyrics and knack for writing catchy songs are nothing less than superb (see Track 19 for concrete evidence). But the collective band just has such a keen sense of melody.
So, to close out the bluegrass instrumental portion of this program(for now), I present "Lois Ann." A really pretty song, and if the melody doesn't get stuck in your head, just know that you are making some barely-read blogger very upset.
--Music good.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Track 49: "Jamgrass 741" by Sam Bush and David Grisman
Another instrumental "bluegrass" number for ya...
Sometimes it's just amazing what a man and a chunk of wood can do. That's sort of the underlying appeal to me of bluegrass and acoustic music. There are no no effect pedals to hide behind or any of that reprehensible auto-tuning, it's just simply the music. A few dudes and a few chunks of wood.
I heard the term 'hill billy jazz' from mandolin stud Sam Bush. Bush was the 3rd article I ever had published, and was sort of my first big-fat-hairy-deal musician I got to speak to on the telephone. Here's a link to that story: http://tinyurl.com/32m8c5k
And it's cool to think of bluegrass that way...at least the more modern stuff that Sam Bush and his ilk created. There's a group of badass musicians (Sam Bush, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, etc) who all have their own groups and various side-projects that sort of keep them in open-door musical relationships. And each musician puts their own unique spin on the traditional music.
By this point you read the article on Sam Bush (ha!), so you know he's the real deal. So when I learned that he and David Grisman were cutting an album together I was pretty damn excited. Grisman is also a mandolin stud, putting his own Latin-tinged improvisational jazz spin on the instrument. Grisman was my first cover story, a big-fat-hairy-deal in its own right. Here's a link to the story: Grisman: http://tinyurl.com/2g56bhf
Now that you're two articles and several wasted minutes deep in this track on the Ultimate Playlist, you should at least have a basic comprehension on how great just the notion of an album by Bush and Grisman would be. And I must say the actual record is even better. Though musicians from Grisman's quintet make appearances, most of the tracks are just two giants throwing down. Again, it's a testament to what two dudes with chunks of wood can do: Sam Bush can also saw a mean one off on the fiddle, and Grisman picks just about every mandolin-related instrument on the planet on the album "Hold On We're Strummin."
I'll always be a sucker for a pretty melody in a bluegrass song (and you'll assuredly here more soon) but "Jamgrass 741" is a bit aggressive. A tad in your face. A musical exploration of two dudes and two chunks of wood. There is some mighty fine pickin on this one.
--Music is good.
Sometimes it's just amazing what a man and a chunk of wood can do. That's sort of the underlying appeal to me of bluegrass and acoustic music. There are no no effect pedals to hide behind or any of that reprehensible auto-tuning, it's just simply the music. A few dudes and a few chunks of wood.
I heard the term 'hill billy jazz' from mandolin stud Sam Bush. Bush was the 3rd article I ever had published, and was sort of my first big-fat-hairy-deal musician I got to speak to on the telephone. Here's a link to that story: http://tinyurl.com/32m8c5k
And it's cool to think of bluegrass that way...at least the more modern stuff that Sam Bush and his ilk created. There's a group of badass musicians (Sam Bush, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, etc) who all have their own groups and various side-projects that sort of keep them in open-door musical relationships. And each musician puts their own unique spin on the traditional music.
By this point you read the article on Sam Bush (ha!), so you know he's the real deal. So when I learned that he and David Grisman were cutting an album together I was pretty damn excited. Grisman is also a mandolin stud, putting his own Latin-tinged improvisational jazz spin on the instrument. Grisman was my first cover story, a big-fat-hairy-deal in its own right. Here's a link to the story: Grisman: http://tinyurl.com/2g56bhf
Now that you're two articles and several wasted minutes deep in this track on the Ultimate Playlist, you should at least have a basic comprehension on how great just the notion of an album by Bush and Grisman would be. And I must say the actual record is even better. Though musicians from Grisman's quintet make appearances, most of the tracks are just two giants throwing down. Again, it's a testament to what two dudes with chunks of wood can do: Sam Bush can also saw a mean one off on the fiddle, and Grisman picks just about every mandolin-related instrument on the planet on the album "Hold On We're Strummin."
I'll always be a sucker for a pretty melody in a bluegrass song (and you'll assuredly here more soon) but "Jamgrass 741" is a bit aggressive. A tad in your face. A musical exploration of two dudes and two chunks of wood. There is some mighty fine pickin on this one.
--Music is good.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Track 48: "When Joy Kills Sorrow" by Bela Fleck
I mentioned in Track 47 about trying something new and adventurous with the ole Ultimate Playlist blog--doing "theme" portions of tracks. After a handful of 'repeat artists' tracks, musicians making there 2nd appearance on the Playlist, the next few tracks will be bluegrass-tinged instrumentals. And though I love the tight vocal harmonies of bluegrass music, some of my favorite songs of the genre are instrumentals. There's just something perfect about what a collection of acoustic instruments can produce...so I hope you enjoy the next few entries of instrumental songs as much as I do.
I touched on "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park" album as being of my go-to albums when spring rolls around, but it's also tough to beat some bluegrass music on a gorgeous, sunny spring day.
Banjo maestro Bela Fleck has made a number of appearances on the Playlist already. He first popped in the incredible "b Song" for Track 6 with bassist Edgar Meyer, again with his amazing band The Flecktones for Track 26 "A New South Africa", and he's also part of Abigail Washburn's Sparrow Quartet on the gorgeous Track 41 "Fall on My Knees".
Maybe I am a bit Fleck-obsessed, but the man just has so much awesome music and is definitely one of my favorite musicians on the planet. And one of my favorite albums of his (of which there are several) is "The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from The Acoustic Planet Volume 2." Obviously from the title, Fleck has done a few "Acoustic Planet" albums (the first is him playing with a number of different jazz musicians, and the most recent 3rd edition "Throw Down Your Heart" finds Fleck taking the banjo on a journey through Africa, playing a lot of traditional African music--a really great album).
But "The Bluegrass Sessions" never fails to get some play when spring rolls around. And it doesn't hurt that Fleck has some of the greatest bluegrass musicians on Earth playing with him on this album--Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Earl Scrugs, Tony Rice and the late, great Vassar Clement just to name a few. There's some fantastic songs on this album, some amazing picking, and it's a must-have record for anyone who digs the bluegrass.
The melody in "When Joy Kills Sorrow" is just so charming, infectious and pretty--a perfect companion to any sunny Sunday afternoon. I just love how each musician on the track sort of 'leads' a section, trading off the melody. Such a great song.
And as a Sunday bonus, I decided to add "The Over Grown Waltz" to Track 48 and give you a Bela Fleck double-shot, so you now have two reasons to own "The Bluegrass Sessions." I used the word 'lovely' to describe The Allman Brothers song "Little Martha," and I think "The Over Grown Waltz" is also quite deserving of the adjective. Such a beautiful melody, perfect for a sunny Sunday. Lovely indeed.
--Music is good
I touched on "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park" album as being of my go-to albums when spring rolls around, but it's also tough to beat some bluegrass music on a gorgeous, sunny spring day.
Banjo maestro Bela Fleck has made a number of appearances on the Playlist already. He first popped in the incredible "b Song" for Track 6 with bassist Edgar Meyer, again with his amazing band The Flecktones for Track 26 "A New South Africa", and he's also part of Abigail Washburn's Sparrow Quartet on the gorgeous Track 41 "Fall on My Knees".
Maybe I am a bit Fleck-obsessed, but the man just has so much awesome music and is definitely one of my favorite musicians on the planet. And one of my favorite albums of his (of which there are several) is "The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from The Acoustic Planet Volume 2." Obviously from the title, Fleck has done a few "Acoustic Planet" albums (the first is him playing with a number of different jazz musicians, and the most recent 3rd edition "Throw Down Your Heart" finds Fleck taking the banjo on a journey through Africa, playing a lot of traditional African music--a really great album).
But "The Bluegrass Sessions" never fails to get some play when spring rolls around. And it doesn't hurt that Fleck has some of the greatest bluegrass musicians on Earth playing with him on this album--Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Earl Scrugs, Tony Rice and the late, great Vassar Clement just to name a few. There's some fantastic songs on this album, some amazing picking, and it's a must-have record for anyone who digs the bluegrass.
The melody in "When Joy Kills Sorrow" is just so charming, infectious and pretty--a perfect companion to any sunny Sunday afternoon. I just love how each musician on the track sort of 'leads' a section, trading off the melody. Such a great song.
And as a Sunday bonus, I decided to add "The Over Grown Waltz" to Track 48 and give you a Bela Fleck double-shot, so you now have two reasons to own "The Bluegrass Sessions." I used the word 'lovely' to describe The Allman Brothers song "Little Martha," and I think "The Over Grown Waltz" is also quite deserving of the adjective. Such a beautiful melody, perfect for a sunny Sunday. Lovely indeed.
--Music is good
Friday, May 21, 2010
Track 47: "The Coast" by Paul Simon
This is a lonely life/sorrow's everywhere you turn/that is worth something when you think about it/that is worth some money
After a few minutes of extensive thought and deliberation today, I decided that since I've been doing repeat artists for past few entries, I would sort of spin that for future entries and dedicated a handful of tracks to genres/a single band/etc to just sort of stretch the depth of the Ultimate Playlist.
I am sure you are excited.
But in closing out the repeat artists portion of this program (for now)...
I touched on my huge love of Paul Simon back on Track 14 with "Gumboots" from the impeccable "Graceland" album. And though Simon and Garfunkel's "Greatest Hits" was one of the first CDs I ever owned (I also got Zeppelin 1 for Christmas that year), and the duo's songs will always have a special place in my heart, the double-live album "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park" takes the prize for my favorite of Paul Simon's music (and that's saying a lot).
The "Concert in the Park" album is just amazing. Recorded on August 15, 1991, it's Paul Simon with a 14-piece band, back-up singers and two CDs worth of the African-influenced hits from "Graceland"and "Rhythm of the Saints" and several Simon and Garfunkel gems.
This album is always one of my go-to records when spring starts to come around, preferably windows-down and driving anywhere. I've been wanting to write about this tune for a while, and oddly enough it was storming here today (complete with marble-sized hail for a few minutes) and when I started listening to "The Coast" the storm stopped and the sun came out for the first time today (albeit briefly). Surely, it wasn't coincidental.
This is a must-own album in my opinion, especially if you spend anytime on a deck on sunny days with cold beer and other human beings you know well in the vicinity. It will be hard to truly express how much I love this song. The compelling groove, the crystalline melody of the lead guitar and visualizing the Simon's lyrics--it just gets me every time. HORNS. The way the song fades back in after the African chant section is a nice a touch as well...And, my sweet lord, THE HORNS.
If the horns don't get you right in your chest, and you're not singing along to the "oooh-wah" parts by the end of this song, you may seriously want to think deeply about your role in this universe.
--Music is Good
After a few minutes of extensive thought and deliberation today, I decided that since I've been doing repeat artists for past few entries, I would sort of spin that for future entries and dedicated a handful of tracks to genres/a single band/etc to just sort of stretch the depth of the Ultimate Playlist.
I am sure you are excited.
But in closing out the repeat artists portion of this program (for now)...
I touched on my huge love of Paul Simon back on Track 14 with "Gumboots" from the impeccable "Graceland" album. And though Simon and Garfunkel's "Greatest Hits" was one of the first CDs I ever owned (I also got Zeppelin 1 for Christmas that year), and the duo's songs will always have a special place in my heart, the double-live album "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park" takes the prize for my favorite of Paul Simon's music (and that's saying a lot).
The "Concert in the Park" album is just amazing. Recorded on August 15, 1991, it's Paul Simon with a 14-piece band, back-up singers and two CDs worth of the African-influenced hits from "Graceland"and "Rhythm of the Saints" and several Simon and Garfunkel gems.
This album is always one of my go-to records when spring starts to come around, preferably windows-down and driving anywhere. I've been wanting to write about this tune for a while, and oddly enough it was storming here today (complete with marble-sized hail for a few minutes) and when I started listening to "The Coast" the storm stopped and the sun came out for the first time today (albeit briefly). Surely, it wasn't coincidental.
This is a must-own album in my opinion, especially if you spend anytime on a deck on sunny days with cold beer and other human beings you know well in the vicinity. It will be hard to truly express how much I love this song. The compelling groove, the crystalline melody of the lead guitar and visualizing the Simon's lyrics--it just gets me every time. HORNS. The way the song fades back in after the African chant section is a nice a touch as well...And, my sweet lord, THE HORNS.
If the horns don't get you right in your chest, and you're not singing along to the "oooh-wah" parts by the end of this song, you may seriously want to think deeply about your role in this universe.
--Music is Good
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Track 46: "Good Times Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin
In the days of my youth/I was told what it means to be a man/now I've reached that age/I've tried to do all those things the best I can
Continuing with the repeat artists theme, this is just another in a long, long line of killer Led Zeppelin tunes.
I espoused my love for the Zep back on track 11 with "Whole Lotta Love" which is just an evil, dirty, and sexy tune. But it's hard to beat track 1 of the band's first record, "Good Times Bad Times." It's just 2:47 of pure and potent rock, and easily one of my favorite Zeppelin songs ever (of which there are several).
But I actually owe Phish for giving me one of my best live music memories in the form of a cover of "Good Times Bad Times." Phish's millennium festival, Big Cypress, on an Indian reservation to help ring in the 2000s was quite simply the best time I've ever had. I had just graduated from college two weeks before, was with about 95% of my best friends, and there was just a cool sense of going to one of the farthest corners of the country in the midst of the Y2K hullabaloo...would there still be a home to go back to after the festival was over?
In the interest of saving space on the Interweb, I can't possibly explain at length what an amazing experience it was. The band did an afternoon set on 12/30, followed by a full show that night, another day set on 12/31 and rung in the New Millennium with a superb midnight to sunrise show. Hand's down this will always be the musical highlight of my life, and though my love of Phish has waned over the years, I will always fondly remember this event.
But Phish closed out the first set of their evening show on 12/30 with a cover of "Good Times Bad Times"and I just lost it. I'm a fairly even-keeled, calm dude, but I went nuts when they played this song. At the time it was my new favorite band covering one of my favorite songs by my all time favorite band--and it completely fucking ruled. They nailed it, and when Phish bassist Mike Gordon played all of John Paul Jones' bass-fills, I just broke out in laughter (my natural, instinctual gut reaction to anytime music blows me away).
And unless Led Zeppelin reunites and I am able to get front row tickets, live music for me, in that wonderful moment in the Florida Everglades, will be the best it's ever been.
--Music is good.
Continuing with the repeat artists theme, this is just another in a long, long line of killer Led Zeppelin tunes.
I espoused my love for the Zep back on track 11 with "Whole Lotta Love" which is just an evil, dirty, and sexy tune. But it's hard to beat track 1 of the band's first record, "Good Times Bad Times." It's just 2:47 of pure and potent rock, and easily one of my favorite Zeppelin songs ever (of which there are several).
But I actually owe Phish for giving me one of my best live music memories in the form of a cover of "Good Times Bad Times." Phish's millennium festival, Big Cypress, on an Indian reservation to help ring in the 2000s was quite simply the best time I've ever had. I had just graduated from college two weeks before, was with about 95% of my best friends, and there was just a cool sense of going to one of the farthest corners of the country in the midst of the Y2K hullabaloo...would there still be a home to go back to after the festival was over?
In the interest of saving space on the Interweb, I can't possibly explain at length what an amazing experience it was. The band did an afternoon set on 12/30, followed by a full show that night, another day set on 12/31 and rung in the New Millennium with a superb midnight to sunrise show. Hand's down this will always be the musical highlight of my life, and though my love of Phish has waned over the years, I will always fondly remember this event.
But Phish closed out the first set of their evening show on 12/30 with a cover of "Good Times Bad Times"and I just lost it. I'm a fairly even-keeled, calm dude, but I went nuts when they played this song. At the time it was my new favorite band covering one of my favorite songs by my all time favorite band--and it completely fucking ruled. They nailed it, and when Phish bassist Mike Gordon played all of John Paul Jones' bass-fills, I just broke out in laughter (my natural, instinctual gut reaction to anytime music blows me away).
And unless Led Zeppelin reunites and I am able to get front row tickets, live music for me, in that wonderful moment in the Florida Everglades, will be the best it's ever been.
--Music is good.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Track 45: "Blue Sky" by the Allman Brothers Band
Don't fly, Mr. Bluebird, I'm just walkin down the road...
Back to back posts?! OMG! WTF?! Maybe I'm feeling industrious. Maybe the creative juices are gurgling in my blood stream. Maybe I just heard this tune on the iPod while walking Bertha around the neighborhood on a perfectly humid early spring evening with the sweet smells in the air just sort of sticking to me.
I'm going to keep repeat-week going with my 2nd Allman Brothers Band track. I love track 21 "Little Martha" just because it's such a lovely, lovely song. But I really can't think of a much better windows-open sing-along tune than "Blue Sky."
It's just deliciously Southern and great to sing along to anytime you have the sun in your face. And of course Dickey Betts shows you why he's one of my favorite guitarists ever--he's just so melodic and hits some perfect notes.
I'm sure whatever reasons the band had for booting Betts out of the ABB back in 2002 (I guess?) were completely logical and justified. And even though I love this band and they ABSOLUTELY KILL LIVE, I will always wish Dickey Betts was still playing with the Allman Brothers Band.
--Music is good.
Back to back posts?! OMG! WTF?! Maybe I'm feeling industrious. Maybe the creative juices are gurgling in my blood stream. Maybe I just heard this tune on the iPod while walking Bertha around the neighborhood on a perfectly humid early spring evening with the sweet smells in the air just sort of sticking to me.
I'm going to keep repeat-week going with my 2nd Allman Brothers Band track. I love track 21 "Little Martha" just because it's such a lovely, lovely song. But I really can't think of a much better windows-open sing-along tune than "Blue Sky."
It's just deliciously Southern and great to sing along to anytime you have the sun in your face. And of course Dickey Betts shows you why he's one of my favorite guitarists ever--he's just so melodic and hits some perfect notes.
I'm sure whatever reasons the band had for booting Betts out of the ABB back in 2002 (I guess?) were completely logical and justified. And even though I love this band and they ABSOLUTELY KILL LIVE, I will always wish Dickey Betts was still playing with the Allman Brothers Band.
--Music is good.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Track 44: "Chinese Translation" by M. Ward
What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart?
I was hoping to get a little further into the tracks, quantity-wise, before I started repeating artists, but there's really not much rhyme or reason to how I come up with the songs for this blog, so I guess it's really not a big deal. Songs just sort of pop in my head, or I'll hear them for the first time in a long while, or I just know a song is awesome as hell and is blog-worthy. But chances are there will be a lot of repeat artists on the Playlist, because well, most of my favorite bands/musicians have more than one great song...duh.
I spoke of my relatively new-found, non-gay, man-crush on M. Ward on Track 8 with the superbly chill "Here Comes the Sun Again." I really have only been listening to M. Ward for a couple of years, and it's easy to say he's one of my most favorite "new" musicians. There's just something invitingly simple and really gorgeous about his songs. He's got a great knack for hooks and there's just something cool and easy about his sort of Indie-folk-crooner voice.
I was floored the first time I heard "Chinese Translation" off of the album "Post War" (which is a GREAT record). The cool acoustic intro, the pumping rhythm, the spacey/melodic electric guitar tones--it's just a great sounding song.
But the song itself tells a pretty cool story. Young man goes on a journey, sails across the sea, climbs a mountain to find the proverbial wise old man on the mountain top. He asks the all-important three questions and the old man breaks into a song about how he was once a young fool who sailed across the sea, climbed a mountain to find a wise old man, asked him three questions, and the old man broke into a song...just one of those stories that could perpetuate itself infinitely.
And this is just one of those songs I could listen to over and over and over....
I was hoping to get a little further into the tracks, quantity-wise, before I started repeating artists, but there's really not much rhyme or reason to how I come up with the songs for this blog, so I guess it's really not a big deal. Songs just sort of pop in my head, or I'll hear them for the first time in a long while, or I just know a song is awesome as hell and is blog-worthy. But chances are there will be a lot of repeat artists on the Playlist, because well, most of my favorite bands/musicians have more than one great song...duh.
I spoke of my relatively new-found, non-gay, man-crush on M. Ward on Track 8 with the superbly chill "Here Comes the Sun Again." I really have only been listening to M. Ward for a couple of years, and it's easy to say he's one of my most favorite "new" musicians. There's just something invitingly simple and really gorgeous about his songs. He's got a great knack for hooks and there's just something cool and easy about his sort of Indie-folk-crooner voice.
I was floored the first time I heard "Chinese Translation" off of the album "Post War" (which is a GREAT record). The cool acoustic intro, the pumping rhythm, the spacey/melodic electric guitar tones--it's just a great sounding song.
But the song itself tells a pretty cool story. Young man goes on a journey, sails across the sea, climbs a mountain to find the proverbial wise old man on the mountain top. He asks the all-important three questions and the old man breaks into a song about how he was once a young fool who sailed across the sea, climbed a mountain to find a wise old man, asked him three questions, and the old man broke into a song...just one of those stories that could perpetuate itself infinitely.
And this is just one of those songs I could listen to over and over and over....
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Track 43: "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel
Cold beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage nights...
Growing up in the 80s, I was, of course, aware of Billy Joel. But I wasn't until later in high school and a little bit of college that I got exposed to more of Joel's catalogue than the MTV hits of the 80's. And a large part of my exposure to Billy Joel is credited to Mike Mastin, one of my best friends from high school and college roommate for a couple of years. He is an absolute Billy Joel freak, and even played "She's Got a Way" as the first dance at his wedding.
I almost forget about Billy Joel. He's just not someone in my regular rotation of tunes and I'm sure his inclusion on the playlist may have perplexed some of the blog followers (and by "blog followers" I mean my parents, who I am quite sure are the only loyal readers. God bless parents). Sure, Billy Joel had some cheesy tunes in the 80's, but who didn't? And as sort of corny as they sound today "Uptown Girl" and "Longest Time" are still great songs.
And Joel is a consummate performer, musician and songwriter. And on top of it all, a really fantastic story teller. Whether you think you do or not, I would almost guarantee that most anyone knows every word to "Piano Man." And tunes like "Goodnight Saigon" and "Ballad of Billy the Kid" are just great tunes, and great stories with some great musicianship behind them. Billy Joel just has an amazing knack for sing-along-songs that get stuck in your head.
But the moment I heard "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" all of Joel's other tunes just immediately paled in comparison to me. I love how the song is structured--there's some romance, some jazz, some rock, and some dramatic string arrangements. And Joel's lyrics about Brenda and Eddie are just superb. I am sure we all know a couple like Brend and Eddie from high school.
As an addendum, I once saw Chicago-based jamband Umphrey's McGee do a cover of this song at a show in Charleston, SC many years ago...and they absolutely nailed it.
Track 43 is for you, Mike!
Growing up in the 80s, I was, of course, aware of Billy Joel. But I wasn't until later in high school and a little bit of college that I got exposed to more of Joel's catalogue than the MTV hits of the 80's. And a large part of my exposure to Billy Joel is credited to Mike Mastin, one of my best friends from high school and college roommate for a couple of years. He is an absolute Billy Joel freak, and even played "She's Got a Way" as the first dance at his wedding.
I almost forget about Billy Joel. He's just not someone in my regular rotation of tunes and I'm sure his inclusion on the playlist may have perplexed some of the blog followers (and by "blog followers" I mean my parents, who I am quite sure are the only loyal readers. God bless parents). Sure, Billy Joel had some cheesy tunes in the 80's, but who didn't? And as sort of corny as they sound today "Uptown Girl" and "Longest Time" are still great songs.
And Joel is a consummate performer, musician and songwriter. And on top of it all, a really fantastic story teller. Whether you think you do or not, I would almost guarantee that most anyone knows every word to "Piano Man." And tunes like "Goodnight Saigon" and "Ballad of Billy the Kid" are just great tunes, and great stories with some great musicianship behind them. Billy Joel just has an amazing knack for sing-along-songs that get stuck in your head.
But the moment I heard "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" all of Joel's other tunes just immediately paled in comparison to me. I love how the song is structured--there's some romance, some jazz, some rock, and some dramatic string arrangements. And Joel's lyrics about Brenda and Eddie are just superb. I am sure we all know a couple like Brend and Eddie from high school.
As an addendum, I once saw Chicago-based jamband Umphrey's McGee do a cover of this song at a show in Charleston, SC many years ago...and they absolutely nailed it.
Track 43 is for you, Mike!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Track 42: "So What" by Miles Davis
I was a senior in college when I first got into jazz. It was sort of a backwards discovery for me--a lot of bands I was getting into then (Derek Trucks Band and Medeski Martin & Wood just to name a couple) are both heavily jazz influenced. And the more stuff I accumulated from those bands, the more I began to notice a Miles Davis cover here, a John Coltrane or Thelonius Monk cover there. Around the same time I read a biography of the Allman Brothers Band ("Midnight Riders", a really interesting read) and the book talked about how Dickey Betts and Duane Allman (two of my favorite guitarists ever) both could not get enough of Miles Davis' album "Kind of Blue."
I started tuning into NPR's jazz hour and just really started digging the music. The more I listened to the one true American art form, the more I began to see its influence in other bands I was getting into at the time (the Grateful Dead, Phish, the whole jam band scene pretty much). There's just something amazing instrumental music can do that songs with vocals can't--groove meets melody meets exploration and it all comes back together, almost magically.
Needless to say, "Kind of Blue" was the first real "jazz" album I ever purchased. And it's a fucking masterpiece. Released in 1959, "Kind of Blue" has been certified quadruple platinum and is the best selling jazz album of all time. And it's just a perfect Sunday morning/drink some coffee/watch CBS Sunday Morning kind of record.
I feel sort of pretentious even putting this track on the Playlist, because it's a whole musical universe I have only discovered a portion of. Though I was enthralled watching the entire Ken Burn's "Jazz" series on PBS and have amassed a good bit of jazz stuff, I'm more enthusiast than aficionado, and writing about jazz requires a vocabulary that I don't even possess.
But the more Miles Davis stuff I got into the more apparent it became that he was a visionary. After digesting "Kind of Blue" I got into some of his fusion stuff--and it still amazes me the same guy that made such a really cool, chill (dare I say sexy) sounding record like "Kind of Blue" could put out something as insanely amazing and amazingly insane as "Bitches Brew."
After reading his autobiography ,simply called "Miles," I came up with a simple explanation: Miles Davis was just one of the baddest motherfuckers that ever lived (sorry Mom, I know I dropped the F-bomb twice in this post, but it was necessary).
"So What" is just such a cool song, and how cool to have found actual video of the quintet (Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Cannonball Adderly (alto sax), Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) performing it!
I started tuning into NPR's jazz hour and just really started digging the music. The more I listened to the one true American art form, the more I began to see its influence in other bands I was getting into at the time (the Grateful Dead, Phish, the whole jam band scene pretty much). There's just something amazing instrumental music can do that songs with vocals can't--groove meets melody meets exploration and it all comes back together, almost magically.
Needless to say, "Kind of Blue" was the first real "jazz" album I ever purchased. And it's a fucking masterpiece. Released in 1959, "Kind of Blue" has been certified quadruple platinum and is the best selling jazz album of all time. And it's just a perfect Sunday morning/drink some coffee/watch CBS Sunday Morning kind of record.
I feel sort of pretentious even putting this track on the Playlist, because it's a whole musical universe I have only discovered a portion of. Though I was enthralled watching the entire Ken Burn's "Jazz" series on PBS and have amassed a good bit of jazz stuff, I'm more enthusiast than aficionado, and writing about jazz requires a vocabulary that I don't even possess.
But the more Miles Davis stuff I got into the more apparent it became that he was a visionary. After digesting "Kind of Blue" I got into some of his fusion stuff--and it still amazes me the same guy that made such a really cool, chill (dare I say sexy) sounding record like "Kind of Blue" could put out something as insanely amazing and amazingly insane as "Bitches Brew."
After reading his autobiography ,simply called "Miles," I came up with a simple explanation: Miles Davis was just one of the baddest motherfuckers that ever lived (sorry Mom, I know I dropped the F-bomb twice in this post, but it was necessary).
"So What" is just such a cool song, and how cool to have found actual video of the quintet (Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Cannonball Adderly (alto sax), Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) performing it!
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