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, 1966

 

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.