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These questions grew out (way out) of a discussion I wanted to have about great songs and great songwriters. Being an aspiring songwriter himself he didn’t really want to discuss it.
So I have a couple of questions I’m asking. But first - should we eliminate Leon Russell and the Dead, jus5 to make Jeffery and Olive dig deeper?
Try to limit yourself to two answers for this round. I refer to songs but classical music is included
1. Name one (or two) songs that stop you in your tracks 2. Name one (or two) songs you like that are totally out of your normal genre 3. Name a song “everybody†loves that leaves you cold 4. Name a song (or two) that consistently lightens your heart and makes you feel good.
Okay, here goes: 1. “The Boxer,†Simon & Garfunkel, studio version only “Wichita Lineman,†written by Jimmy Webb, performed by Glen Campbell 2. “One True Vine,†Mavis Staples (See also “Wichita Lineman) 3. I should probably change my password after this but - John Lennon’s “Imagine†4. Suzy Ragsdale’s “Best Regards†is on just about every playlist I have, and heads up my “hit the highway for awhile†list.
Anybody wanna play? I’m thinking next round should be “Songs you love to hate/hate to love,†and or “pop songs that take you back to childhood.â€
Now thats a tough one Rick. Critiquing guitar styles etc is difficult for me. Personally I just play acoustic guitar and am a simple chord chunker at best.
That being said I think Edge is amazing for the notes (and sometimes chords) that he doesn't play. He has a spare style that works perfectly with Bono’s vocals and the rest of U2. That combined with the amazing tone he achieves through his electric wizardry is simply something to behold. He is not a shredder as say Eddie Van Halen was but rather more of a melody maker. Miles Davis has a quote that I think sums it up best:
“Don't play what's there; play what's not there.â€
1. Name one (or two) songs that stop you in your tracks 2. Name one (or two) songs you like that are totally out of your normal genre 3. Name a song “everybody†loves that leaves you cold 4. Name a song (or two) that consistently lightens your heart and makes you feel good.
1) Unchained melody - Righteous Brothers Don't Stop Believing - Journey 2) I hope you dance - Lee Ann Womack (Not much into country) 3) My Way - Frank Sinatra. The performance is great, the words suck. (What a bunch of narcissism) 4) What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong Somewhere over the Rainbow - especially by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole and (cheating) America the Beautiful - Ray Charles
I have not really completed my homework assignment but this song falls into your number one category. It’s a song that was very popular in Hawaii in the early to mid-1970s. Sung in English but still with that old style Hawaiian slack key style playing.
And coming in at number three is the song I have absolutely despised from the day I first heard it. Not only are the lyrics insanely sappy but the instrumentals are beyond pathetic. Especially with that warbling lead guitar doing his thang in the background. I present you with:
This is not my style (oh shoot everything is my style) but it makes me grin and sometimes even dance a little. I love each and everyone of these guys
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I love The Traveling Wilburys, even though thinking about them makes me get a little choked up. Losing everyone except Dylan (knock on wood) is a little tough to take. Roy Orbison, George Harrison and most recently Tom Petty, a little too tough to take sometimes. I wanted all of them to be right there with Keith Richard, almost immortal.
Did any of you guys ever read what Dylan said about Roy Orbison's singing? All I can say is "WOW!" .... check this out!
Quote
“I was always fishing for something on the radio. Just like trains and bells, it was part of the soundtrack of my life. I moved the dial up and down and Roy Orbison's voice came blasting out of the small speakers. His new song, "Running Scared," exploded into the room. Orbison, though, transcended all the genres - folk, country, rock and roll or just about anything. His stuff mixed all the styles and some that hadn't even been invented yet. He could sound mean and nasty on one line and then sing in a falsetto voice like Frankie Valli in the next. With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes. With him, it was all about fat and blood. He sounded like he was singing from an Olympian mountaintop and he meant business. One of his previous songs, "Ooby Dooby" was deceptively simple, but Roy had progressed. He was now singing his compositions in three or four octaves that made you want to drive your car over a cliff. He sang like a professional criminal. Typically, he'd start out in some low, barely audible range, stay there a while and then astonishingly slip into histrionics. His voice could jar a corpse, always leave you muttering to yourself something like, "Man, I don't believe it." His songs had songs within songs. They shifted from major to minor key without any logic. Orbison was deadly serious - no pollywog and no fledgling juvenile. There wasn't anything else on the radio like him.â€
So that’s the song I was trying to remember with that high-pitched little wailing shriek she does. I simply could not remember who sang it nor the name of the song so thanks Mellow. Is it one of my favorites?
I shall leave you in suspense…….
Minnie Ripperton was one of the original stable of artists signed by Leon's SHELTER RECORDS label and she was one of the first to record at his "Church Studio" in Tulsa! ðŸ˜
Here is one of my guilty pleasures. Don’t fall over Jeff!
I don’t know how many of you out there are aware but Karen Carpenter started out as a drummer and she loved to play her drums. But the producers/managers wanted her out front as a pretty vocalist, so they nixed the drums.
OK you phuggerz. I dare you to listen to this thing all the way through. These folks are musical heroes of mine from a long while back. Nobody plays like this anymore:
This is excerpted from an email I just wrote to my friend who was standing in line with me to see Otis Redding, only 54 years ago tonight, when they came out and announced his death in Lake Monona only a few miles away.
TAT
This is clearly what we expected on Dec 10, 1967, only 54 years ago today, but tragically never happened! A surreal blast from the past!
I recently stumbled onto a RollingStone article about the writing and recording of "Dock of the Bay" that has much more detail than most want, but I red it anyway. I would have sent you quotes from the lynx but I exhausted my free access before the paywall blocked me.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/KbymsBt.png)
