Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwick

Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwick
2:58
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls, 1968
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David

Warwick's light, sprightly vocals ride a muscular rhythm track of electric bass and prominent bass drum, with horns punching in at the middle eight.  Warwick never liked this track, calling it "a dumb song" in 1983, but she was glad it was a hit!  Lyrically, the song is another of many depicting those trying to make it big in Hollywood but never hitting the big time.  The narrator yearns for the simpler life in the titular city, disparaging Tiseltown's fickle nature: "L.A. is a great big freeway, put a hundred down and buy a car / In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star / Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass / And all the stars that never were are parking cars and pumping gas."  

Young Fashioned Ways - Muddy Waters

Young Fashioned Ways - Muddy Waters
3:01
single, 1955
Written by Willie Dixon

Also written as "Young Fashion Ways," this piano-driven blues is a declaration that a youthful spirit can still galvanize an aging body.  It contains a line festooned on many a T-shirt and Facebook post by white boomers who have never heard the blues: "If my hair is turning grey / I know you think the way I feel / There may be snow up on the mountain / But there is fire down under the hill."  The song also reminds us, as in the dictum about the size of the pencil, "A young horse may win the race / But an old horse stays out so long."  The lines probably had more power at the time of the song's release than now, so much later, but Waters' booming voice gives even the familiar sentiments a persuasive authority. He sounds relaxed, experienced, and entirely confident in his own abilities.

Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way - Carl Smith

Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way - Carl Smith

2:50

single, 1951

Written by Loys Sutherland and Louie Clark

Carl Smith's nickname was "Mister Country," and he definitely had the right pedigree for the title: he was married to both June Carter and Goldie Hill.  In this pure honky-tonk come-on, over a pedal steel he croons to his paramour, pleading with her to scoot on closer, and "cuddle up and be my turtle dove."  It's a mid-century, corn-pone version of the Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch," urging the lady to put down any artificial defenses and follow her natural instincts: "So darling, turn on all your charm / While I hold you in my arms / Let old mother nature have her way."

The Way In - The Dream Syndicate

The Way In - The Dream Syndicate

2:41

These Times, 2019

Written by Steve Wynn

I've mentioned my love for Steve Wynn here, but have never talked about the Dream Syndicate.  Unlike a lot of fans, I discovered his most well-known band through his solo material, which came first for me.  So to me Wynn is the main act and the Syndicate his side project; for lots of guys still spinning The Days Of Wine And Roses, it's obviously the other way around.  Anyway, this song shows a reformed band still evolving, not stuck in the past.  It's using the same formula of driving guitars and smart songwriting, but exploring new ways to use those tools.  "Tryin’ to reconcile the past with the present / Which one fits and which one doesn't / And we shed our skin just to find a way in."

Dry Your Eyes - Neil Diamond

Dry Your Eyes - Neil Diamond
3:23

Beautiful Noise, 1976

Written by Neil Diamond and Robbie Robertson

Diamond apparently considered Robbie Robertson's production of this album enough of a point of pride to print his credit on the album cover, an unusual move in rock circles.  The song was co-written by both musicians; it's a celebration and a tribute to someone gone ("that distant falling angel / that descended much too soon").  Robertson said later that he was inspired by the assassination of Martin Luther King.  The song's lyric reminds us to keep the memory alive through song, whether metaphorical or literal: "Dry your eyes and play it slowly / Like you're marching off to war / Sing it like you know he'd want it / Like we sang it once before."  Piano, organ, and accordion create a somber atmosphere, as Diamond's inimitable vocal conveys a depth to the tribute.

Your True Love - Carl Perkins

Your True Love - Carl Perkins

2:43

single, 1957

Written by Carl Perkins

This is a danceable early rocker that Elvis probably could have livened up a little.  I really dig the amusing couplet that splits a sentence with a rhyme, then blends it with a continuing sentence : "God made the world, and He made it round / I got my baby, and I'm glad I found / Her love was meant for me."  I believe that's Jerry Lee Lewis providing the boogie piano, and the call-and-response choruses complement Carl's laid-back, come-hither vocal.  

Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? - The Rolling Stones

Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? - The Rolling Stones

2:34

single, 1966

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Although I haven't paid much attention to the band since Steel Wheels, I prefer the old, brash Stones, when the Glimmer Twins were trying out new sounds, branching out beyond the roots and blues they stole, I mean built their reputation on.  This psychedelic single, with its piano, horn section, finger snaps, and multiple backing vocals, stands out even in their catalog.  Jagger sends his voice from a whisper to a full-throated shout, and the song ends with a brutal buzz of a guitar.  It's a noisy, sloppy mess that somehow manages to coalesce into something charming.

Defrost Your Heart - Charlie Feathers

Defrost Your Heart - Charlie Feathers
2:30
single, 1956
Written by Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch

Feathers is best known today as a pioneer of rockabilly, but this slow weeper is pure honky-tonk, all steel guitar and crooning, nasal vocal.  At the time of its release, comparing your inamorata's heart to an icebox, with its trays for ice cubes, was probably pretty cutting edge.  "You grew cold and acted smart / Wont you please defrost your heart? / Fill its trays with love sweet and warm."  With his clever approach to songwriting, it's a shame he isn't better known; his biggest credit is a cowrite on Elvis' "I Forgot To Remember to Forget."

Your Mouth is a Garden - Raynes

Your Mouth is a Garden - Raynes

3:57

Bloom, 2025

Written by Raynes

This is an upbeat blend of pop and folk with a driving percussive beat, soaring, heartfelt vocals, building up to harmonies and big "oh oh oh" choruses.  Lyrically, the song is a declaration of love, with images of remembered scenes between two people.  It starts with what might be an apology after a rift: "Thought about what I said / And I wanna take it back / Hanging on by a thread / When I knew it would snap / Can we break the head from the haft / And bury it somewhere outside?"  I love the literate, gentle poetry of this song, and I'm continually surprised that music this melodic, heartfelt, and lyrically ambitious can exist without becoming a huge hit. If you think contemporary pop has nothing left to say, give this one a listen.

One Night - Elvis Presley

One Night - Elvis Presley

2:32

single, 1958

Written by Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King, Anita Steinman

Apparently Elvis was unhappy with having to bowdlerize the lyrics as originally sung by Smiley Lewis ("One night of sin / Is what I'm now payin' for") into the much tamer "One night with you / Is what I'm now praying for."  Lewis' reflection on the night, which has already happened, is that it shook him to the core.  The things he has seen and done!  Elvis' night, on the other hand, is still safely hypothetical: "The things that we two could plan / Would make my dreams come true."  It's an interesting distinction.  But over a driving piano, Elvis gives a fierce, almost growling vocal, giving passion to the comparatively insipid lyric.