Category: Music

I once asked a guy what he wanted in a woman. He replied, "A whore in bed, Simone de Beauvoir in the parlor, and the Virgin Mary on a pedestal."  An impossible combo. Some just want the girl next door.

Bobby Darin, Dream Lover. With pix of Sandra Dee.

Audrey Hepburn, Moon River

Gogi Grant, The Wayward Wind, 1956. I'll take Lady Gogi over Lady Gaga any day.

Doris Day, Que Sera, Sera, 1956.  What did she mean? The tautological, Necessarily, what will be, will be? Or the non-tautologically fatalistic, What will be, necessarily will be? Either way, she died in May.

Harry Chapin, Cat's in the Cradle. The best song about fatherhood I am aware of. Bond with your son when he's five. Wait till he's 50 and he won't give you the time of day. Harry Chapin was a major talent who died young.  Here is his great Taxi. We Boomers are damned lucky to have the greatest popular music soundtrack of any generation.

What Happened to Harry Chapin?

Emmylou Harris, To Daddy

Arizona's own Marty Robbins, That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine. The old Gene Autry tune from the '30s. 

Joan Baez, Daddy, You've Been on My Mind. The great Dylan song slightly modified. Not addressed to a literal father, you understand. At :40, the girl depicted is not Joan Baez but Suze Rotolo, Dylan's first New York girlfriend. How do I know that? Because I am a self-certified Dylanologist from way back.

Shep and the Limelites, Daddy's Home, 1961. Anyone who prefers rap crap to this has a hole in his soul.

Rivingtons, Papa Oom Mow Mow. Stretching a bit. 

James Brown, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, 1965

Horace Silver, Song for My Father, 1964

Hank Williams, I'm a Long Gone Daddy

No, I am not going to link to Alan Sherman, Hello Mudda, Hello Faddah, 1963.

Frank Zappa, Hungry Freaks, Daddy, 1966

Paul Peterson, My Dad. To end on a 'wholesome' if schmaltzy note.  

He has been called "rock's greatest songwriter."  A  better description is "America's greatest writer of popular songs." Bar none.  We can discuss the criteria later, and consider counterexamples.     His earliest four or five albums are not in the rock genre.  I'll permit quibbling about #5, Bringing It All Back Home (1965), but Bob Dylan (1962), The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) , The Time's They Are A'Changin' (1964), and Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) are better classified as folk, not that they sit all that comfortably in this niche.

These early albums are studded with lasting contributions to Americana. This is music with meaning that speaks to the mind and the heart.  No Rat Pack crooner Las Vegas lounge lizard stuff here. Two lesser-known compositions both from The Times They Are a'Changin' (1964):

The Ballad of Hollis Brown   Performed by Stephen Stills.

North Country Blues.  Written from the point of view of a woman and so appropriately sung by the angel-throated Joan Baez.

D. A. Pennebaker on the making of Don't Look Back.  I saw it in '67 when it first came out.  I just had to see it, just as I just had to have all of Dylan's albums, all of his sheet music, and every article and book about him. I was a Dylan fanatic.  No longer a fanatic, I remain a fan.

May he die with his boots on.  It ain't dark yet, but it's gettin' there. When his 30th album Time Out of Mind came out in 1997, over twenty years ago now, I was amazed to discover that Dylan could still tap back into that magic mood he achieved in the mid-60s.

Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.

 

I was born here and I'll die here, against my will
I know it looks like I'm movin' but I'm standin' still

Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.

Sinatra is supposed to have said that a pro is one who can play it the same way twice.  (Where?) Dylan rarely plays it the same way twice. Here is a version of "Just Like a Woman" which is lyrically and in other minor ways different from the Blonde on Blonde version.  

Dave Bagwill recommends this outstanding extended version (Freewheelin' outake 2, 1962) of "The Ballad of Hollis Brown." Move over, Stephen Stills! The harp fills don't quite make it, however, in this minor-keyed tune.

Calexico, Alone Again Or

A great cover of Love's version from '67.

Ry Cooder, Paris, Texas

Ry Cooder, He'll Have to Go

A curiously satisfying Tex-Mex re-do of the old Jim Reeves crossover hit

Ry Cooder, Yellow Roses

Spade Cooley, Detour

'Spade Cooley' has got to be one of the most politically incorrect names of all time.  I remember seeing his Western swing show on KTLA, Channel 5, in the late '50s, early '60s' at my Uncle Ray's place.  Cooley was a real piece of work.  

Above, a view of the Arizona open road from the cockpit of my 2013 Jeep Wrangler. 

Old Crow Medicine Show, Sweet Amarillo.  Dylan wrote it.

Marty Robbins messes with the wicked Felina in El Paso and comes to an untimely end.

Dean Martin is down and out in Houston. 

A lonely soldier cleans his gun and dreams of Galveston. 

A slacker standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona spies a girl in a flatbed Ford.

Johnny Rivers heads East via Phoenix and Albuquerque.

From Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah, this sojourner of the American night has driven every kind of rig that's ever been made.

Ed Farrell writes, "The Little Feat version of I'm Willin is a good one.  But my favorite version will probably remain the one done by Seatrain circa 1970–which was the standard road song for Sierra climbing trips in late high school/college.  Seatrain never really took off as a band but their musicianship was quite good though their style was difficult to pigeonhole."

That is a good version, indeed better than Little Feat's.  There were a lot of great bands back in the day that never really made it.  Another is Fever Tree.  I remember hearing them circa '68 live at a club called The Kaleidoscope  in Hollywood or West L. A.  Give a careful listen to The Sun Also Rises.

Ed also recommends Seatrain's version of the Carole King composition, Creepin' Midnight.  Produced by George Martin.

Finally, please take a look at Ed's spectacular photography.

Today being the 49th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, we kick things off with 

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Ohio This one goes out to my old Ohio friend, Bill Marvin who attended Kent State.

Bill Monroe and Doc Watson, The Banks of the Ohio

Joan Baez with Jerry Garcia, The Banks of the Ohio, 1981

Phil Ochs, Boy in Ohio, 1970.  Underrated and largely forgotten, but not by this '60s veteran. Rest in peace, Phil.

Randy Newman, Dayton, Ohio 1903

Bruce Springsteen, Youngstown

Randy Newman, Burn On. An allusion to the Cuyahoga River catching on fire?

The Band, Look Out Cleveland

Ian Hunter, Cleveland Rocks

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's . . .

Have you stateside readers settled accounts with the Infernal Revenue Service?  If yes, order up one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer and enjoy this live version of Taxman  featuring Harrison and Clapton.  Stevie Ray Vaughan's blistering version. 

. . . and render unto God the things that are God's.

Herewith, five definite decouplings of rock and roll from sex and drugs.

Norman Greenbaum, Spirit in the Sky

Johnny Cash, Personal Jesus. This is one powerful song.

Clapton and Winwood, Presence of the Lord. Why is Clapton such a great guitarist? Not because of his technical virtuosity, his 'chops,' but because he has something to say.

George Harrison, My Sweet Lord

George Harrison, All Things Must Pass. Harrison was the Beatle with depth.  Lennon was the radical, McCartney the romantic, and Ringo the regular guy.

Good YouTuber comment: "Immortal song, even if all things must pass . . . " 

Rolling Stones, Beast of Burden

Jackson Browne, The Load Out

The Band, The Weight

Allman Bros., Not My Cross to Bear

ZZ Top, Got Me Under Pressure

Tom Waits, Shiver Me Timbers. The clue to the meaning of this great song lies in the reference to Jack London's Martin Eden.

Bob Dylan, Not Dark Yet

Shadows are falling, and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep, and time is running away
Feel like my soul has, turned into steel
I've still got the scars, that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough, to be anywhere

It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, my sense of humanity, has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter, and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing, what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care

It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, I've been to London, and I've been to gay Paris
I've followed the river, and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom, of a world full of lies
I ain't lookin for nothing, in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear

It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

I was born here, and I'll die here, against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body, is so naked and numb
I can't even remember what it was, I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer

It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

BONUS CUT: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. I've loved this song since I first heard it in '65.  I'll let the YouTubers gush for me.

Who, My Generation

Beatles, Strawberry Fields Forever

Derek and the Dominoes, Layla

Johnny Cash, I Walk the Line

Peggy Lee, Fever. One chord and (I think) three keys.

Hank Williams, Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

Kingston Trio, Tom Dooley

Chuck Berry, Memphis, TN. The Lonnie Mack version sports three chords!

Seeds, Pushin' too Hard.  If you remember this cheesy garage-band number, with its cheesy guitar solo, I'll buy you a beer.

Eric Clapton, Tulsa Time

Sir Douglas Quintet, Mendocino. This one goes out to Joe Odegaard.

Joe Cocker, Feelin' Alright

Beatles, Paperback Writer. Mostly just two chords.

UPDATE (2/17)

Mendocino Joe sends us to Frank Zappa's Camarillo Brillo. "She carried on without a comma . . . ."

Springfields, Silver Threads and Golden Needles

Neil Young, Heart of Gold

Connie Francis, Oh My Darling Clementine

Lee Dorsey, Working in a Coal Mine

Marty Robbins, That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine

Joan Baez, Silver Dagger

Miranda Lambert, Gunpowder and Lead

James Taylor, Copperline

Allman Bros., Silver Dollar

Bob Dylan, Cold Irons Bound

YouTuber comments:

There's something about not having a perfect voice that lends so much authenticity, sincerity and soul to a particular song. Dylan has it, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Shane McGowan, Billie Holiday and yeah — even Dean Martin….none are perfect — yet, they are legends. Ha. Because there's a thrill factor to it all. This is one of Dylan's best…this is rock and roll. Don't forget the word "roll" at the end. That guarantees it's the real thing. (There are other singers too…I can't list them all).

Amazing! The concentrated precision on their faces, every note delivered on time, These guys are so tight makes my teeth hurt. Accompanying the most enigmatic, musical artist on the planet, and doing it with grace and style. Of the hundred times I've watched this video masterpiece a percentage has been just for the ending. After the last chord stops reverberating (I can't help but read into the moment) a small but enthusiastic applause breaks out there is a look of enjoyment on their faces, an understated sense of accomplishment. Something has happened here. Something greater than the sum of it's parts.

READERS' RECOMMENDATIONS (2/3)

Keith Richards, You Got the Silver

Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner's Daughter.  This one goes out to Hillary Clinton.

Bill Mize, The Silverplume Waltz. Great solo acoustic guitar.

The Eagles, Silver Dagger

Joan Baez, Silver Dagger (live)

Mose Allison, The Song is Ended

Punch Bros., Dink's Song

Dave van Ronk, Dink's Song

Arlo Guthrie, Percy's Song

Fairport Convention, Percy's Song

Doors, Alabama Song

Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly with his Song

Bob Dylan, Song to Woody

Chad and Jeremy, Summer Song

Simon and Garfunkel, 59th Street Bridge Song

Brook Benton, The Boll Weevil Song

UPDATE 1/20. A reader asks:

A black dude singing a hillbilly song? Where do you find these things?

That was a big hit when I was a boy, and I never forgot it.  It was played on the rock stations. Another great Brook Benton tune is It's Just a Matter of Time.

Charley Pride is another black guy who sang country songs. Is Anybody Going to San Antone?

Joan Baez, There but for Fortune. Ochs' best song in its best rendition.

Phil Ochs, Changes

YouTuber comment, good except for the exaggeration in the last sentence:

Somewhere, in a parallel universe, in another dimension, where there's musical justice, Phil Ochs wasn't just Bob Dylan's sidekick in the early 60's, who released a bunch of albums that are long out of print, failed to gain international recognition, got choked by muggers and lost his ability to sing, disappeared into alcoholism and severe depression, and hanged himself on his birthday, and is remembered only thanks to documentaries about Greenwich Village and the Folk Revival. No, in some other reality he's remembered as one of the absolutely greatest songwriters, guitarist, and singers in the history of popular music . . . .

Phil Ochs, Pleasures of the Harbor. Brings back memories of '67 and shows that Ochs could break out of the protest/topical rut. 

Christopher Hitchens on Phil Ochs and those days.

Ochs' protest songs were too obvious and bound to the events of the day. Dylan's best protest songs avoided these defects to float free of the specific and enter the ethereal.  This is part of the reason why Ochs is tied to his time and place and remembered only by the aficionados but Dylan has a permanent place in the pantheon of Americana. For example, these great Dylan anthems lay it between the lines and have stood the test of time:

Clancy Bros., When the Ship Comes In

Alanis Morissette, Blowin' in the Wind

Joan Baez, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

And now some great tunes from the ill-starred Tim Hardin. I discovered him in '67 when I bought his Tim Hardin 2 LP.  Still have it in mint condition. Do I hear $10,000?  At the time, I thought that Hardin might displace Dylan in my adolescent affections or else become a sort of second Dylan.  But of course that did not happen since Dylan is on 'a whole other level'  despite Hardin's being a very fine songwriter and performer.

Tim Hardin, Lady Came from Baltimore

Tim Hardin, Reason to Believe

Small Faces, Red Balloon. Great version! I prefer it to Hardin's original. But then, I don't know. Both good.  Hardin died of a heroin overdose in 1980.  'Red Balloon' is a heroin reference. See here:

"Red Balloon" is a confessional song about Tim's mixed feelings toward heroin and its effects upon him. Heroin is often sold in balloons, so the "bought myself a red balloon" line refers to buying and taking heroin. The "blue surprise" is the adverse effects of heroin. One such effect is the loss of libido or sexual desire – "took the lovelight from my eyes." (or possibly mistreating your loved ones) "The pinning of my eyes" is probably some adverse physical effect. In the song he is addressing heroin (according to the magazine's interpretation) when he states "you were so easy to get to know, but will we see one another again…I hope so." The Troubadour version seems to confirm this, talking about running around on the lower East Side, much like in the old Cocaine song talking about going down to Beale and Main looking for the man who sells Cocaine. So though on the surface it appears to be a childlike song about balloons and children, it's actually quite the opposite.

Don't mess with the stuff, muchachos. I speak from experience. It can very easily kill you. This is part of the reason why I have such utter contempt for those obstructionist crapweasels, Nancy the Knucklehead Pelosi, the Botox-ed-up face of the Democrat (Demon Rat?) party, and her sidekick Chucky the Scumbag Schumer who in effect promote open borders and the flow of  drugs into the country.

Tim Hardin, Black Sheep Boy

If you love, let me live in peace/Please understand/ That the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand.

Tim Hardin, If I Were a Carpenter

There is a lot of talk of walls these days. I need a break. Here are some of my favorite Phil Spector productions.  It wouldn't have been the 'sixties without him. I avert my eyes from his later misadventures and remember him for his contributions to the Boomer soundtrack.

Crystals, Uptown, 1962.

Crystals, He's a Rebel

Ronettes, Be My Baby

Crystals, Da Doo Ron Ron

Curtis Lee, Pretty Little Angel Eyes.

Great dance video. Curtis Edwin Lee, one-hit wonder, hailed from Yuma, Arizona.  He died at 75 years of age on 8 January 2015.  Obituary here. His signature number became a hit in 1961, reaching the #7 slot on the Billboard Hot 100. When I discovered that the record was produced by the legendary Phil Spector, I understood why it is so good.  After the limelight, Lee returned to Yuma for a normal life. This tune goes out to wifey, with love.  When I first espied those angel eyes back in '82, I had the thought, "Here she is, man, the one for you. Go for it!" And I did, and its been very good indeed.

Ben E. King, Spanish Harlem, 1960.

Crystals, Then He Kissed Me

Beach Boys, Then I Kissed Her. With a tribute to Marilyn M.

Paris Sisters, I Love How You Love Me, 1961.

Ronettes, Walkin' in the Rain

Merry Christmas everybody.  Pour yourself a drink, and enjoy.  Me, I'm nursing a Boulevardier.  It's a Negroni with cojones: swap out the gin for bourbon.  One ounce bourbon, one ounce sweet vermouth, one ounce Campari, straight up or on the rocks, with a twist of orange.  A serious libation.  It'll melt a snowflake for sure. The vermouth rosso contests the harshness of the bourbon, but then the Campari joins the fight on the side of the bourbon. 

Or you  can think of it as a Manhattan wherein the Campari substitutes for the angostura bitters.  That there are people who don't like Campari shows that there is no hope for humanity.

I link to what I like, and I like to what I link. And my taste is decidedly catholic.

Billie Holliday, The Way You Looked Tonight. An uncommonly long intro. I first heard this old tune in the The Lettermen version in 1961. YouTuber comment:

Suzanne, the world did get cold after we parted. I got drafted to the other side of it and never could come home again. You eventually married a less adventuresome boy. I haven't seen you in over fifty years, and never will again, but I still feel a glow just thinking of you and the way you looked that night.Your laugh that wrinkles your nose still touches my foolish heart. I still love you, just the way you looked that night.

Mose Allison, The Song is Ended

Arlo Guthrie, Percy's Song

Ry Cooder, Christmas in Southgate

(Last night I had) A Wonderful Dream, The Majors. The trick is to find in the flesh one of those dream girls. Some of us got lucky.

Gary U. S. Bonds, From a Buick 6.  Wow! Undoubtedly the best cover of the Dylan number. And better than the original. Sorry, Bob. Bonds had a number of hits in the early '60s such as Twist, Twist, Senora. Cute video. The girls look like they stepped out of the '40s. They remind me of my aunts.

Beach Boys, 409. With a four-speed manual tranny, dual quad carburetors (before fuel injection), positraction (limited slip differential), and 409 cubic inches of engine displacement.  Gas was cheap in those days. 

A U. K. reader/listener recommends Junior Brown's cover of 409 in which the aging Beach Boys sing backup. Brown wields a curious hybrid axe, half steel guitar and half 'regular' guitar. An amazing, and very satisfying shitkicker redneck version. Check it out! Amazing the stuff the Dark Ostrich digs up from the vasty deeps of the Internet.

Ludwig van Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata.  A part of it anyway with scenes from the great Coen Bros. film, "The Man Who Wasn't There."

Tex Williams, Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette, 1947

Joan Baez, Rock Salt and Nails.  "If the ladies was squirrels with high bushy tails/I'd fill up my shotgun with rock salt and nails."  This is undoubtedly (!) the best version of this great Utah Phillips song.

Doc and Merle Watson's version