Come On Time - Willie Nelson

Come On Time - Willie Nelson

2:55

Ride Me Back Home, 2019

Written by Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon

Listen for the silent E!

This song, from Willie Nelson's sixty-ninth (!) solo album, is, despite its title, not an exhortation to arrive early, but a gentle rebuke, in apostrophe form, to Time, the entity.  "Why did you leave these lines on my face? / You sure have put me in my place."  The rhythm section chugs along like a train, while Willie, with his usual wit and mild self-deprecation, asserts that he'll do his best to beat Time, at least this time.  There is a vanishingly tiny number of artists that continue to invent and create well into old age, and Nelson is up there with Bob Dylan in fusing mature wisdom and perspective with youthful skill.  Everything he sings immediately becomes his own, and he makes it seem easy.

On the Street Where You Live - Vic Damone

On the Street Where You Live - Vic Damone

2:39

single, 1956

Written by Frederick Loewe & Alan Jay Lerner

Listen for the silent E!

Although this song appeared on a 1964 album of the same name, it was actually released as a single eight years earlier, the same year it was written for the musical "My Fair Lady."  Songwriting legends Loewe and Lerner pepper this song with all the show tune hallmarks and sly multi-word rhymes that Cole Porter was probably the best at: "Are there lilac trees in the heart of town? / Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?"  I love that line.  Pretty much every big band or traditional popular singer took a turn recording this song, but Damone's sweeping, note-bending baritone gives his version some gravitas.

Ain't That Strange - Rhett Miller

Ain't That Strange - Rhett Miller

3:30

The Believer, 2006

Written by Rhett Miller

Listen for the silent E!

John Coltrane, of course, has an album of the same name, and I really appreciate how Miller drops a reference to the Trane in this song: "We had love supreme as you could find / I wanted to be one in a million, baby do you mind?"  This song is as rocking as Miller gets, with a couple of ferocious buzzy guitar solos.  The narrator in this song is a wild man.  He had a weekend with a lover and now he wants everything.  He wants that one in a million type of love.  Is that so wrong?  Is that so strange?  Miller's characters are always fighting the bottle or their own thwarted desires.  This one is is using primal rock therapy.  A top-tier track from an always inventive and witty lyricist.

5 Years Time - Noah And the Whale

5 Years Time - Noah And the Whale

3:34

Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, 2008

Written by Charlie Fink

Listen for the silent E!

It's a love song, a stars-in-your eyes-thinking-about-how-great-love-is song, it starts with whistling, it's got handclaps, it's sweet and catchy, it has beautiful female vocals by Laura Marling echoing Fink's lead.  This was a top ten hit in a handful of countries and was used in an ad, but I'm not really tapped into that kind of impact music has.  I don't watch the charts or ads or shows that feature the newest hit.  So I'm always last to everything.  I really love this song.  It's adventurous in that it's not afraid to be vulnerable and cute.

It's Only Love - the Beatles

It's Only Love - the Beatles

1:56

Help!, 1965

Written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney

It's Contraction Week! 

Now, have I heard this song before?  Sure.  But I find that I don't know it even as well as the ZZ Top song of the same name.  Apparently Lennon was pretty dismissive of his own song, and while it's true this is not a great lyric and the song pales in comparison to the Fab Four's heavy hitters, even on the same album, the melody is bright and engaging, and I love the vibrating effect on Harrison's layered guitars.  Even a minor Beatles song is still leagues ahead of most others.

Everybody's Talkin' - The Seldom Scene

Everybody's Talkin' - The Seldom Scene

3:16

Changes, 2019

Written by Fred Neil

It's Contraction Week! 

This song is from the Scene's (so far) last album, a collection of covers.  The band is one of the most famous bluegrass bands and has been recording since 1972, but I actually know almost nothing about them.  They really blue the heck out of this song, adding some lightning-fast fingerpicking and soaring harmonies.  I'm not sure they elevate it into something new, but it's definitely a terrific version, accessible while also being a showcase of serious musical skill.

Those Were (Could've Been) the Days - The Deslondes

Those Were (Could've Been) the Days - The Deslondes

2:29

The Deslondes, 2015

Written by Dan Cutler, Sam Doores, Riley Downing, Cameron Snyder, & John James Tourville

It's Contraction Week! 

The band is a roots rock outfit named after a street in the Lower Ninth Ward.  This song has a few handfuls of bluegrass and gospel (there's a road, babe, that can take us to glory") tossed in.  It could be a love song ("You had me, babe / And I had you").  He could be referring to heaven.  Or both.  Could easily fit in the services of a revivalist preacher.  Or George Jones could croon it.  I love a band that can deftly sift and meld genres.  This is a head-nodding, toe-tapping example of how folk music can really adapt to all the folk.

I Can't Dance - Genesis

I Can't Dance - Genesis

4:01

We Can't Dance, 1991

Written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, & Mike Rutherford

It's Contraction Week! 

A bit of departure from the archetypical Genesis sound.  Not prog rock this, but a relatively sparse, syncopated, synth shuffle with plinking sound effects.  Lyrics are a sly dig at commercials that use sexy bodies to sell you unrelated things.  A far cry from Peter Gabriel's art-rock, it's prettily produced, radio-ready pop.  Not really my cup of tea, but it's a fun listen as long as you don't take it seriously.

She's Fine - A.C Reed

She's Fine - A.C Reed

4:18

I'm In the Wrong Business, 1987

Written by A.C. Reed

It's Contraction Week! 

A skillful "crazy about my baby" Chicago blues.  Nothing too original, but a fine display of musicianship.  Reed is apparently a sax player, but I can't hear it on this track, which instead seems to showcase electric guitar blues licks and a piano line.  Reed's vocals are appropriately plaintive and suggestive as needed.  I don't know why he isn't better known; he may not be B.B. King, but he's a solid blues songwriter.

Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

3:44

Kicking Against the Pricks, 1986

Written by Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook

 

It's Contraction Week! 

This being a covers album, I was hoping this might be some sort of adaptation of Dylan's "Someone’s Got a Hold of My Heart," but no.  This was originally written by a professional songwriting team and recorded by a British pop duo called David and Jonathan in 1966, then another musician I don't know, Gene Pitney in 1967.  So, a pop aria, turned into dark cabaret vamping.  But not very dark; this isn't the dour Cave of Let Love In.  Yes, the atmosphere is somewhat haunted carnival (he says "You smile and I am lost for a lifetime," but somehow he doesn't seem super happy about it), but Cave treats the material gingerly.  The piano lines are beautiful.  

You Ain't Nothin' But Fine - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

You Ain't Nothin' But Fine - The Fabulous Thunderbirds
1:49
What's the Word?, 1980
Written by Sidney Simien & Floyd Soileau

It's Contraction Week!

This song was originally released in 1961 by Rockin' Sidney.  In the hands of the T-Birds, it retains its zydeco feel, with Jimmie Vaughan's rock guitar giving it some extra oomph.  Vocalist Kim Wilson is one of the great blues singers in rock; he can bellow and strut, but his delivery is expressive.  This song is a fun toe-tapping little number, maybe not a major work but a nice little blues rocker.

Can't You See That She's Mine - The Dave Clark Five

Can't You See That She's Mine - The Dave Clark Five

2:22

The Dave Clark Five Return!, 1964

Written by Dave Clark, Mike Smith, & Ron Ryan

This week is all about 1964!

More British Invasion blues-based rock with honking, buzzy sax work, including a fairly long sax solo.  Seems like it's heavily influenced by "I Saw Here Standing There."  And Wikipedia tells us that one line ("People talk, try to break us up") was taken directly from the Ray Charles song "Sticks And Stones."  Well, it's a pretty common sentiment.  With the backbone of a jaunty organ riff and the throaty, exuberant singing, this is a rattling train of a 60s rock song, very much of its era.

Oh Well Oh Well - The Three Sounds

Oh Well Oh Well - The Three Sounds

3:43

Black Orchid, 1964

Written by Gene Harris

This week is all about 1964!

Uptempo, swinging piano jazz.  Just terrific musicianship on display.  The interplay between Harris' piano and the bass and drums is effortless.  I've never heard of this group, but they're just my style.  Sometimes I find the intense, 13-minute bebop horn-based stuff a little much.  Coltrane is great, but maybe not for this particular project.  This is perfect cocktail party jazz.  It's cool, it swings, it's got a piano virtuoso at the helm.  

Don't Ask Me What I Say - Manfred Mann

Don't Ask Me What I Say - Manfred Mann

3:01

The Five Faces Of Manfred Mann, 1964

Written by Paul Jones

This week is all about 1964!

British Invasion blues-influenced rock, with a snazzy sax adding some groovy licks.  This is a song sung by a dumped guy.  "I gave you all of my lovin' / Everything I could / Now you say you don't love me / Well there's no reason why you should."  You know what he thinks about that?  It was a low-down trick.  Easily as good as anything the Stones put out around this era, it's all buzzy and garage-style.  The lead vocals have just as much, if not more, strut, than Mick's.  These guys probably should have been bigger.

Banks Of the Roses [live] - the Dubliners

Banks Of the Roses [live] - the Dubliners

2:12

The Dubliners, 1964

traditional

This week is all about 1964!

This song dates to the 18th century.  It is sometimes conflated with another traditional tune called "Banks of the Primroses," which is quite different.  This one is about a lad named Johnny who leaves his love because his father doesn't approve.  There is another version in which Johnny kills the girl and buries her on the bank.  In this one the Dubliners sing on their live debut, he just goes on his merry way and imagines marrying another girl.  "The man that doesn't like me / Can leave his daughter at home."  That's cold, Johnny.  Anyway, I've been listening to the Dubliners all my life.  There is no better traditional Irish band.

Talking About My Baby - The Impressions

Talking About My Baby - The Impressions

2:34

Keep On Pushing, 1964

Written by Curtis Mayfield

This week is all about 1964!

A love song.  The narrator is smitten.  When she walks that walk and talks that talk, he can't quite explain how he feels.  He just knows she drives him crazy and she's his everything.  Soul music and vocal music does this kind of anthem to an adored subject so well, in a way that rock doesn't.  The perfect doo-wop harmonies elevate the clichéd lyrics and simple chorus.  Probably the greatest vocal group.  The album this song is on is one of only a few displayed on the cover of Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home.  I love the machine gun drum fill at the start.

Good Times - Sam Cooke

Good Times - Sam Cooke

2:28

Ain't That Good News, 1964

Written by Sam Cooke

This week is all about 1964!

For the second day in a row during this 1964 week, we have a song that's a little wistful, a little nostalgic, a little hedonistic, a little carpe diem.  "Ain't felt this good since I don't know when / And I might not feel this good again."  Maybe that was a common vibe in 1964 music.  The singer doesn't know what time it is and he doesn't care.  He's just going to let the good times roll.  I have heard this song before, but Aretha Franklin's version.  To me, Sam Cooke is the main man, the genius, the velvet voice.  This is the superior rendition.

All Summer Long - The Beach Boys

All Summer Long - The Beach Boys

2:09

All Summer Long, 1964

Written by Brian Wilson & Mike Love

This week is all about 1964!

I'm a fan of the Beach Boys, but I'd say mostly I only know the hits.  Granted, there are a lot of hits.  So this is a popular song, but I'm not overly familiar with it.  Just what the name implies, it's an ode to all things summer if you're a California youth: cut-off, T-shirts, miniature golf, horse riding, Hondas.  The vocals are beautiful, over swinging piano and marimba.  So breezy!  Oh, and Kid Rock is a moronic, creepy, talentless loser.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Louis Armstrong

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Louis Armstrong

2:22

Disney Songs the Satchmo Way, 1968

Written by Ray Gilbert & Allie Wrubel

This album marks the last recordings of Armstrong on trumpet.  Apparently, Walt Disney himself requested that Satchmo record this album, and he did, even though he was in ill health.  (Sad to think how just four short years before he was at the top of the charts with the perfect album Hello, Dolly!.)  You wouldn't know he was ailing, however, from listening to this song or its album.  His joyful vocals and bright trumpet make this already Oscar-winning song lively and fun.

Yawn, Yawn, Yawn - Les Savy Fav

Yawn, Yawn, Yawn - Les Savy Fav

2:56

single, 2003

Written by Les Savy Fav, I guess?

I had never heard of this art-rock clanging-guitar-punk post-hardcore bearded madmen, but saw their name, in connection with the Hold Steady somehow, and was intrigued.  The dreamscape lyrics seem to describe two members of a conflict, facing impending doom;  Maybe a carpe diem cri de coeur ("If we get lucky, we'll be dead by dawn / So let's get-get-get-get-get-get-get-get-get it on!").  Lead singer Tim Harrington shouts his heart out, like a less hoarse Patrick Stickles.

Willie And the Hand Jive - The Johnny Otis Show

Willie And the Hand Jive - The Johnny Otis Show

2:35

single, 1958

Written by Johnny Otis

I had only ever heard the Eric Clapton version before; this is the original.  Otis is an interesting guy; born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes to Greek parents, as a youth he decided to identify as a black man.  The song is about a man named Rockin' Willie who became famous doing a mysterious dance with his hands which is never described.  (However, according to Wikipedia, "The dance consisted of clapping two fists together one on top of the other, followed by rolling the arms around each other.")  I personally always wondered if the song was a double entendre about masturbation.  I mean, it seems like it is, but that doesn't fit the lyrics that well.  Sure, there's the hand jive being disapproved of by his father.  But then why would Willie do it on TV?  Why would the grandmother give the sister a dime to do it again?  What would that mean??  But the music.  It's a jump blues shuffle, a Bo Diddley beat, it's got handclaps.  Great stuff. 

The Valley Road - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The Valley Road - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

4:12

Will the Circle Be Unbroken Volume 2, 1989

Written by Bruce Hornsby

This song appeared on a Hornby record the previous year, and his lead vocals are featured here, accompanied by a frenzy of bluegrass-style fingerpickin' and fiddlin'.  The lyrics are not explicit, but they hint at a tale as old as time.  Hired hand goes off with his boss's daughter, gets her pregnant, the family quietly sends her away to have it aborted, and he can't see her anymore.  Hornsby's biggest hit is also a progressive, anti-prejudice message.  It's funny how many songs of social justice by mainstream artists are listened to on repeat by the masses who happily ignore their meaning.

Under 21 - Save Ferris

Under 21 - Save Ferris

2:37

It Means Everything, 1997

Written by Brian Mashburn

Power pop ska swing!  Musically, No Doubt has nothing on these guys.  Lyrically, on the other hand, it's the work of a teenager, and not a particularly self-reflective one at that.  "He said, No one under 21 allowed! / But he must've been stupid 'cause I saw my friends in the crowd."  Don't overlook the erudite chorus, "It sucks to be under 21."  John Keats this is not, but the powerhouse vocals help you forget.  As long as you're not paying much attention, this isn't a bad song to have bopping along in the background.

This Is the Night - The Delta Bombers

This Is the Night - The Delta Bombers

2:40

single, 2020

Written by The Delta Bombers

This is a pretty decent throwback rockabilly song, all hot rods and teenage meet-ups.  All '50s style, acoustic upright bass, black leather jacket, switchblade maybe?  It's got an ominous vibe.  Something's going to happen before the sun comes up.  Maybe he'll get some girl to like him!  Nothing original here, but it's a good time.  The title is repeated a lot.  Probably dancing is more on the band's minds than story-telling.

She's Got Soul - Nick Lowe

She's Got Soul - Nick Lowe

2:23

The Convincer, 2001

Written by Nick Lowe

A newly debonair Lowe, no longer the Jesus of cool but now the dashing debonair grandfather of cool, applies his talent for pop perfection to a spare, country-tinged love song.  The narrator has found a girl, a real pearl.  He's been lonely, but "she could be / the making of me."  A gentle, unassuming song, delivered with a quiet, sure vocal.  The words say he's over the moon, but he doesn't sound too excited.

Road Away - John Stewart

Road Away - John Stewart

3:36

Cannons In the Rain, 1973

Written by John Stewart

There is always something new to you.  Despite my long interest in music, especially the singer-songwriters from the 1970s, I've never heard of Stewart.  He was in the second incarnation of the Kingston Trio, and wrote "Daydream Believer" and "Never Goin' Back," which I know from the Lovin' Spoonful version.  He then went on to release nearly 50 albums.  Yet he's never made his way into my consciousness.  Which is too bad; he's clearly a talented guy and has a nice voice.  This song is somewhat abstruse, but seems to be about the need to make your own way in the world, whether by choice or perforce.  It's a toe-tapping number, but I'm dinging it a point for repeating the chorus three times to fadeout.

Palmcorder Yajna - The Mountain Goats

Palmcorder Yajna - The Mountain Goats

4:08

We Shall All be Healed, 2004

Written by John Darnielle

The Mountain Goats aren't the first artist to reappear here, but this song marks the first reoccurrence of an album on this blog.  Continuing the tweaker theme of the album, this song finds a group of meth heads gathering at a decrepit hotel to get high.  What's that title all about?  A palmcorder is a brand of Panasonic camcorder ('And I dreamt of a camera / Pointing out from inside the television").  A Yajna or Yagna is a Hindu ritual done in front of a sacred fire ("If anybody comes into our room while we're asleep / I hope they incinerate everybody in it").  Grim, foreboding, strident.

Once a Day - Connie Smith

Once a Day - Connie Smith

2:20

Connie Smith, 1965

Written by Bill Anderson

I've only vaguely heard of Smith and I don't think I've ever heard this song.  Of course, it was #1 for eight weeks, and propelled Smith to superstardom, but to be fair to me, I was not much interested in country for many decades of my life.  This is an archetypical "woe is me" song sung with pride and defiance, hanging on the hook of the type of ironic wordplay country music used to love.  That is, "The only time I wish you weren't gone / Is once a day, every day, all day long."  I like the example in Willie Nelson's "Three Days:"  "Three days that I dread to see arrive / Three days I hate to be alive / Three days filled with tears and sorrow / Yesterday, today, and tomorrow."  Or, as Kurt Vonnegut said, "Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future."  But I digress.  This is a deserved classic.

Natural Child - Brewer & Shipley

Natural Child - Brewer & Shipley

3:49

Shake Off the Demon, 1971

Written by Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley

I think the first thing the discerning modern listener notices about this album is the mustaches.  It was an era when a mustache and a guitar could get you a recording contract.  I think I've said that before.  It's possible that this song is the quintessential hippie folk-rock zeitgeist. "Natural child / Got to keep hopin’ for one thing / Natural child / The human race."  Might you hear this in a drum circle, hippies leaping about?  Yes, you might well.  A folk rock jam, all positive vibes and congas and jangly violins.

Marchin' To the City - Bob Dylan

Marchin' To the City - Bob Dylan

4:33

The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996–1997), 2023 (recorded 1996)

Written by Bob Dylan

An outtake from Time Out Of Mind, something like an early version of "Til I Fell in Love With You," a few lyrics that made it into the final cut popping up here and there.  Note that this is a different cut from the the two versions of this song that appear on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006.  Those songs clock in at 6:32 and 3:40.  This one, from Fragments, is closer in tone and tempo to the shorter version 2.  It was probably recorded in 1996.  Looking back with the knowledge of what would come, this is pretty clearly unfinished, but I don't think you would say that if you'd never heard the final result.  

Life With the Lions - Billy Bragg

Life With the Lions - Billy Bragg

3:06

Workers Playtime, 1988

Written by Billy Bragg

A breakup song, or at least, a "we're about to break up" song.  The narrator "hates the arsehole" he is when he's with the girl.  He suspects something.  His friends ask why he's mad all the time.  Well, she might have been going out around his back. Is she the predator, the lion of the title?  "The chase is always better than the kill."  Musically this is a nod to country and western, complete with piano and harmonica.