This has always been one of my favorite Holiday songs (or what some might consider an anti-Holiday songs). I couldn’t think of a better way to kickoff this thirty day countdown to December 25th.
Tonight’s special gift is a video of an impossibly young Simon and Garfunkel performing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Enjoy!
I just learned today that I have been assigned to a special project at work for the next couple of months. This means that I will be working the new project, trying to keep things running on my current project, and coping with the upcoming holidays at the same time. Unfortunately all of this is going to limit the amount of time that I have available to update this blog so I am implementing a Plan B for the remainder of this year.
Starting today, I will post one of my favorite Holiday songs each day. Don’t worry…….I think you will like these songs and the artists that perform them! Since this is the time of the year for giving and surprises, most days I will also try to include a surprise gift that you will hopefully add to your enjoyment.
What I won’t have time to do is write a lot of text for these posts so I apologize for that in advance. As always I look forward to your feedback. In particular, let me know your favorite holiday (rock) songs.
Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. On this day we traditionally reflect on the things that we are thankful for and I would like to extend that tradition to this Blog. The following are some of the big things that I am thankful for today.
To express my thanks, I give you the absolute funkiest piece of work by the amazing Sly and the Family Stone, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)…..
Thanks to all of this blog’s readers for letting me be myself!
I just discovered that I never posted Album Of The Week #18 (which is is a real shame because it is one of my favorite albums ever). I can’t believe that no one noticed….. I don’t think you guys have been paying attention 🙂
So….a few weeks late, tonight I present you with David Crosby’s first (and best) solo album If Only I Could Remember My Name. Let’s listen…….
1. Music is Love
2. Cowboy Movie
3. Tamalpais High/At About 3
4. Laughing
5. What Are Their Names
6. Traction in the Rain
7. Song With No Words/Tree With No Leaves
8. Orleans
9. I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here
FYI – This is on my list of candidates for “my final playlist”
To provide you with some of the interesting details about this album and it’s recording, the Wikipedia article on the album is provided below. The collection of musicians that played on this album is amazing so pay attention to the list of players on each track.
If I Could Only Remember My Name is the debut solo album by David Crosby, released in February 1971 on Atlantic Records. One of four high-profile albums released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping Déjà Vu album, it peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200. It has been in print continuously since its initial release. The album gained new recognition in 2010 when it was listed second on the Vatican’s “Top 10 Pop Albums of All Time” as published in the official newspaper of the Holy See, L’Osservatore Romano.
A large grouping of prominent musicians from the era appear on the record, including Nash, Young, Joni Mitchell, members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana. This ad-hoc ensemble was given the moniker of “The Great Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra” by longtime Crosby associate Paul Kantner; many of the same musicians appeared on the latter’s Blows Against The Empire, recorded concurrently with Crosby’s album. The album also features the only recorded appearance of David Crosby’s reclusive brother, Ethan Crosby.
Although the album garnered its share of detractors, including Crosby’s then-manager David Geffen and influential Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau and only a lukewarm review from Lester Bangs in Rolling Stone, it was a modest commercial success, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. Two singles were taken from the album, “Music Is Love”, which was released in April 1971 and peaked at #95 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Orleans” which was released in July 1971. The album has gained in critical appreciation since its release.
The album was released on compact disc on October 25, 1990, having been digitally remastered from the original master tapes, using the equipment and techniques of the day, by original engineer Stephen Barncard. A double-disc reissue appeared on November 6, 2006, with an audio disc remastered in HDCD, including a bonus track “Kids and Dogs,” and a second DVD Audio disc of the original album remixed for 5.1 digital Surround Sound. Reviews of the most recent reissue place the album in the same influential company as the more baroque works of Nick Drake and Fairport Convention.
Side one
- “Music Is Love” (David Crosby, Graham Nash, Neil Young) – 3:16
- Crosby – guitar, vocal; Nash – guitar, vocal; Young – guitar, bass, vibraphone, congas, vocal
- “Cowboy Movie” (Crosby) – 8:02
- Crosby – electric guitar, vocal; Jerry Garcia – electric guitar; Phil Lesh – bass; Mickey Hart – drums; Bill Kreutzmann – tambourine
- “Tamalpais High (At About 3)” (Crosby) – 3:29
- Crosby – electric guitar, vocals; Nash – vocals; Jorma Kaukonen – electric guitar; Garcia – electric guitar; Lesh – bass; Kreutzmann – drums
- “Laughing” (Crosby) – 5:20
- Crosby – guitars, vocal; Garcia – pedal steel guitar; Lesh – bass; Kreutzmann – drums; Nash, Joni Mitchell – vocals
Side two
- “What Are Their Names” (Crosby, Garcia, Lesh, Michael Shrieve, Young) – 4:09
- Crosby – electric guitar, vocal; Young – electric guitar, vocal; Garcia – electric guitar, vocal; Lesh – bass, vocal; Shrieve – drums; Nash, Mitchell, David Freiberg, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick – vocals
- “Traction in the Rain” (Crosby) – 3:40
- Crosby – guitar, vocal; Nash – vocal; Laura Allan – autoharp, vocal
- “Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)” (Crosby) – 5:53
- Crosby – electric guitar, vocals; Nash – vocals; Gregg Rolie – piano; Garcia – electric guitar; Kaukonen – electric guitar; Jack Casady – bass; Shrieve – drums
- “Orleans” (traditional) – 1:56
- Crosby – guitars, vocals
- “I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here” (Crosby) – 1:19
- Crosby – vocals
So it’s mid-November in North Alabama and autumn is definitely upon us. The fall leaves are beautiful, college football rules the airwaves, and there is a nice chill in the air when I head to work each morning. What a glorious time of year! I hope all of are having a wonderful fall wherever you live.
To celebrate this time of year I have picked my favorite fall songs to help you start your weekend. As always, let me know what you think.
Autumn Almanac – Kinks
Fall In Philadelphia – Hall and Oates
Forever Autumn – Justin Hayward
This is not just one of my favorite fall songs…..it is close to the top of my list of favorite songs of all time.
Indian Summer – Poco
The Boys Of Fall – Kenny Chesney
This video features my Alabama Crimson Tide team……..Roll Tide Roll!
Harvest Moon – Neil Young
Taking some time off from the Blog after the election. Don’t forget about me in the interim.
I will be back soon and I have a lot of great new ideas for the blog. Hang in there until I am back.
Meanwhile, let’s revisit one of the best things to come out of the 80’s…..The Breakfast Club!
OK, Ok…..I know I said no more political posts but I just can’t resist this one.
Come to find out, on Election Night, Mitt Romney’s campaign released his victory/transition website. A little premature don’t you think! What a bunch of pompous assholes!
Looking at this gives me so much pleasure 🙂 Thanks to Taegan Goddard and politicalwire.com for grabbing these screen captures before the site was taken down.
As usual, my online friend Gerard was the first to chime in with the right answer. Here is what Gerard said in his comment:
There are three well known musicians sitting in the making of this record/LP; Al Kooper, Todd Rindgren and last but not least George Harrison. If you listen to this number you can hear the guitar of George playing and strumming in Day After Day.
While Gerard was correct, Wikipedia identifies a few more musicians that participated and provides a few more details about George’s role in the following excerpt from its Badfinger article:
In 1971, the group rented Clearwell Castle, in Gloucestershire; living and recording there. They finished recording their third album, again with Emerick as producer, but the tapes were rejected by Apple. Harrison took over as producer in spring of 1971, but later pulled out of the project because of his Bangladesh commitments; the album was then completed by Todd Rundgren. Straight Up was released in the US in December 1971, and spawned two successful singles: “Day After Day” (Billboard number four), which sold over a million worldwide, and “Baby Blue” (US number 14). The album reached number 31 on the US charts. It included uncredited special guest appearances from Harrison, Leon Russell, and Klaus Voormann. Commenting on the recording of the dual slide guitars on “Day After Day”, Molland remembered: “Pete and I had done the backing track, and George came in the studio and asked if we’d mind if he played … It took hours, and hours, and hours, to get those two guitars in sync”.
As mentioned in the article above, George turned over production responsibilities to Todd Rundgren in order to plan his benefit concert for Bangladesh. Badfinger ended up as the backing band for the concert.
As a bonus, here is a great clip from that concert with George singing Here Comes The Sun backed by Pete Ham from Badfinger.
I never get tired of this performance!
President Obama was re-elected tonight, an event that will be celebrated not only in the United States but also around the world. As such, this victory calls for an international celebration and that is what I have for you tonight.
My friend Gerard from the Netherlands provided this song by a group called Rare Earth. Rare Earth is a 1970s US band that was signed to Motown Records. That is plenty international for me 🙂 Thanks Gerard!
Now……let’s celebrate!!!!!!!
Thanks for everyones patience during the election. We will now transition back to a music focused blog after I take a week or so off!
thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard 