I’ve waited way to long to discuss Jason Isbell’s, Southeastern, album that was released last year. It has been on heavy rotation in my car over the past several months.
Jason grew up very close to where I live in North Alabama so I feel compelled to support him based on just that but let me tell you……he deserves my support, and yours, based on raw talent. He is, without a doubt, one the favorite new singer/songwriters that I have discovered in years.
Jason may be best known as a member of Drive By Truckers but for the last 6-7 years he has focused on his solo career. His hard work paid off with the release of Southeastern which was, and continues to be, a huge hit. Tonight I have two of my favorite songs from that album for you. First up is Traveling Alone followed by a live performance of Different Days.
One of the things that I dislike about becoming older is that I find it very hard to find new music that surprises/amazes/entertains me. Back in the late 60s and early 70s (when I was a young man) it seemed like every week I discovered some great new musician, artists, or song that just blew me away. These days that doesn’t happen very often…..but today I’m sharing one of the rare cases where it still occurs.
The group Elbow, out of Manchester England, has been around for over 20 years with exactly the same personnel but somehow they totally escaped my attention until a couple of weeks ago when I happened upon their new album named The Takeoff and Landing of Everything. From the very first note of the very first song of that album I was surprised, amazed, and entertained.
The Guardian recently featured a great interview with Guy Harvey, Elbow’s lead singer, that I encourage you to read (click on the link below to access the article):
In case you don’t read the article here is an excerpt where the author discusses the album and I have to give him credit, he says most of what I feel about the album/band a lot better than I ever could.
The Take Off…, Elbow’s sixth, has many of the band’s hallmarks: moments of majesty, strings provided by Manchester’s Hallé orchestra; choruses that bury themselves deep after only one or two listens; astonishingly deft character portraits – of an ageing, bitter drunk (Charge), or a girl who was always better than where she came from (Colour Fields); funny lines (“she and I were for a burton tailor-made”); and beautiful, strong human sentiment. Garvey is known as a romantic but he has many sweethearts. Over Elbow’s 24-year career, he’s sung of his love for his home city, Manchester, of the joy of other people’s company, of the romance of drinking and smoking, the wonder of teenagers and the bittersweet pleasure of getting older. His tenderness extends to friends, alive and dead; his family, all generations; old loves and old foes, now reconciled to him through song. Garvey’s emotion transforms the quiet trials of everyday life into a magical thing.
The only thing that I would add is that Guy is an amazing singer. There is something about his tone and phrasing that reminds me of Peter Gabriel (with Genesis and early in his solo career) and that is probably the best compliment I could ever give a singer. So….on to the music. I had to make this a bonus edition of Two’Fer Tuesday because I was unable to pick just two songs to share with you! The three songs I have for you are New York Morning, Fly Boy Blue/Lunette, and My Sad Captains (a live version recorded on BBC Radio 2 last week). Enjoy!
The way the day begins
Decides the shade of everything
But the way it ends depends on if you’re home
For every soul a pillow and a window, please
In the modern Rome where folk are nice to Yoko
So I’ve had a nice Holiday break…..I hope you have as well. My New Year’s Resolution for 2014 is to Follow My Arrow. Confused? Listen to the following song by newest musical obsessions, Kacey Musgraves, and it will make a lot more sense…..
Kacey is one a great set of talented country songwriters that that emerged in 2013 and I absolutely love her song Follow Your Arrow. You could do a lot worse than adopting the following lyrics from the song as your own resolution for this year.
Say what you think
Love who you love
‘Cause you just get
So many trips ’round the sun
Yeah, you only
Only live once
So make lots of noise
Kiss lots of boys
Or kiss lots of girls
If that’s what you’re into
When the straight and narrow
Gets a little too straight
Roll up a joint, or don’t
And follow your arrow
Wherever it points, yeah
Follow your arrow
Wherever it points
Here’s an acoustic live performance of the song that I though you might like as well…..
I’m a little behind in my “Forty Years Ago Today” posts so later today I plan to do a final post to catch you up on the album releases in the later part of 1973. Later this week you should be looking for my Best of 2013 (End Of The Year Music Review) post.
Our Two’Fer Tuesday post today is the final one about the 1oth anniversary edition of Death Cab For Cutie’s Transatlanticism album. Today I’m featuring the title track. As with the past few posts…..first the demo and then the version as released in 2003. I really like this album and I’m sorry to end see this series of posts end.
I hope this series of posts has convinced you to buy the 10th anniversary album but……if they haven’t……listen to the complete original album below and I think you will be convinced. Enjoy!
As promised, here is another taste of the 1oth anniversary edition of Transatlanticism. Today I’m featuring We Looked Like Giants…..first as a demo and then as released in 2003. As with Title and Registration, this is really good stuff that I think you will enjoy……
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Two’fer Tuesday post when I will feature the demo and released versions of the title track from this great album.
So……Death Cab For Cutie is another group that my son introduced me to. He’s been a fan for a long time and has seen them live multiple times. I’m a more recent convert but have since become a big fan. The band recently re-released their album 2003 album, Transatlanticism, in a special 10th anniversary edition. The cool thing about the re-release is that they included the original demo version of each song on the album, hence the name of this post….New-Old Music. The demo versions are amazing and in many cases I like them as much or more than the released versions.
Over the next couple of days I will feature demo versions of songs from Transatlanticism along with their matching released versions. I hope you enjoy these posts and highly recommend that you buy the special 10th anniversary version of the album. I got it in MP3 format from Amazon and only paid $6.99.
Today let’s listen to one of my favorite songs, Title and Registration. First up is the demo version followed immediately with the originally released version.
So….the new album by The Head and the Heart was released today (I bought it on Amazon at 5 am this morning). It was a busy, very long, day at work so I wasn’t able to listen as much as I would like but I heard enough to tell you that it’s really good! Here are a couple more songs from the album……let me know what you think……
As I mentioned yesterday’s The Head and the Heart post, the band has a new album (Let’s Be Still) that will be released tomorrow. As a lead in for that release, I thought you would enjoy hearing their great single, Shake, from the new album.
While you are waiting to pick up your copy of Let’s Be Still tomorrow you might enjoy this 4 part video of the band visiting Lawrence High School. It’s part interview and part live session. I think you will like it.
Today, while reading my morning newspaper, I discovered a band called The Serenes from a nearby place called Joure in Friesland in the northern part of Holland (where I live). The band existed from 1988 to 1994 but I had never heard of them before reading the article from Gijsbert Kamer, a Dutch journalist (provided below with a rough translation into English).
Rough Translation (With Help From Mike)
So many classic rock albums have been made in the Netherlands. Albums that stand for a certain time in the rock ‘n’ roll history and always sound special. Revolution of Q 65 (1966), Ivy Green of Ivy Green (1978), Mental Floss For the Globe by Urban Dance Squad (1989) and Palomine by Bertie Serveert (1992) all have that status.
The album Barefoot And Pregnant by The Serenes is another such album. During the autumn of 1990, when the American bands Pixies, Sonic Youth, REM and the British band Stone Roses were making their leading guitar music (before the grunge craze), this beautiful record by the Serenes appeared from Joure.
The Serenes had two great singers/guitarists with Paul Dokter and Theo de Jong and a sound data matched the heady understated guitar pop of The Feelies but still sounded very original.
The guitarists created a wonderful guitar sound which is highlighted in the beautiful closing track Trip Down Memory Street. The sound differed from other Dutch rock bands at that time from the so-called Amsterdam School (Claw Boys Claw, Fatal Flowers).
Barefoot and Pregnant was critically acclaimed and did not go unnoticed abroad. But Dokter and de Jong parted, and worse, the album was not available for years.
The later problem has now been resolved with a wonderful reissue on Re, a sub-label of Excelsior. The reissued CD includes unreleased material from Dokter and De Jong as bonus tracks but the album itself still has much to offer even after all these years.
In addition to the Barefoot and Pregnant album mentioned in the article, the band released Back to Wonder in 1993 (by this time Paul Dokter had left the band). Having now listened to both albums by The Serenes all I can say is …..what a great find and what beautiful music. They sound a bit like early R.E.M. and I like them very much. Let’s listen to some music by The Serenes and so you can see what I am talking about…….
Rebecca (You’re Gonna Be Alright) – from Barefoot and Pregnant
Sprit (Let Me Walk With You) – from Back to Wonder
Special thanks to Tony Pas for his great videos for the two songs above!
If you like what you have heard, I have a gift for you all the way from Holland. You can listen to both albums below. Mike tells me that these albums are not easily available in the United States so this may be your best opportunity to listen to them.
Some of you may not be familiar with Quicksilver Messenger Service so here’s a quick introduction from my copy of Lillian Roxon’s Rock Encyclopedia…..
One of the very first bands to take part in the San Francisco rock scene of the sixties. Quicksilver can trace its roots back to 1965. They played mostly for the citizens of Haight-Asbury at free concerts and for the patrons of the Fillmore and Avalon at the height of the flower period in 1966 and 1967. They did not record until quite late in their careers, turning down offers until they considered themselves entirely put together and ready for the studio. Their first album disappointed some of their fans in that it was a “studio” album in the traditional sense, with much of the band’s in-concert power pasteurized (albeit magnificently). They more than made up for this lack of edge on their second album, Happy Trails, one of the finest live albums ever recorded. Lead guitarist Cipollina’s glittering, quivering guitar lines stole the show, making the hard-hitting band sound like the equivalent of a sea resort “happy feet” machine.
So with this as an introduction I give you the first two Quicksilver albums in their entirety. I highly recommend that you take the time to enjoy the talents of John Cipollina (guitar), Gary Duncan (guitar, vocals), David Freiberg (bass, vocals), and Greg Elmore (drums)……..
Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968)
Happy Trails (1969)
While the two albums above were represent Quicksilver at the height of their musical prowess, their biggest radio hit was still yet to come in 1970. As a bonus, here is a great 1971 live version of that hit, Fresh Air, from 1971 at the Fillmore.
By the time of this performance John Cipollina had left the band and Dino Valente had returned. (note: Dino was a founding member of the group but was in jail for a pot bust by the time the group recorded their first two albums.)