The Steel Horse & The Southern Thang: Tunes for Travelin' (playlist & downloads)

I had a car in high school. It was a piece of shit. It was a vette...a Chevy Chevette. I don't have a picture of the actual car...good thing, too. It's a good thing I don't have one, not just because it was butt ugly, but because it could be used as evidence in a court of law against me (assuming the statute of limitations holds up). 

Me and my cronies broke a lot of rules in that car. Did you know it is possible to fit six half kegs and three people in one Chevette...and drive it on an old, rocky, pothole filled dirt road out in the deep of the woods. Yep, it can...if you know what you are doing. That car saw a lot of miles and a lof of good times. I don't even own a car now. 

I live in central London. You don't need a car in central London. The tube (subway) is nearby. My groceries are delivered. The gym is close by. There is a pub on every corner. Nope, you don't need a car in London...if you can help it. When you do need one, you just rent one. I went to do just that the other day until I realised that I my Australia driver's license had expired in April. Shit. 

Shit, is right. I didn't even think to look at it. Now I am going to have to jump through a few pain-in-the-ass hoops to get a UK one. When we moved to London I had no intentions of getting a car. I am not a 'car guy' by any stretch. Never have been and never will be. What kind of car I drive, how to get around an engine, hell, a new car...none of it matters to me. I look at a car as box with wheels that gets you from A to B. I appreciate the craftsmanship and riding in high-performance vehicles and luxury liners. I think new cars, expensive cars are cool...I just have no desire to own one. 

The last car I owned and that I cared about, was a jukebox on wheels. The stereo was worth more than the damn vehicle. That being said...I loved that vehicle. I loved it because it was a classic American ride; that it was low maintenance; that it was great for driving around and listening to tunes in . Yeah, I loved that rig.  The rig in question was my 1994 Jeep Wrangler. I called her, "The Steel Horse". 

The "Steel Horse" was a thing of beauty...no, Ragged Glory suited her best. I bought it off of some Swiss dude who was living in Tampa, FL. He was a tennis coach at a program down there. He had to sell the the 1994 jeep in order to pay for his lawyer who had just helped him get his green-card. He told me that his dream...his life long dream...was to move to Florida, teach tennis and buy a jeep. He damned near broke down and cried when I drove it away. 

I did him proud whilst I owned 'er. I had plan for the new ride. First, I named her...very important to name your ride. Second, I Florida-ized her (I was living in Ft. Lauderdale, FL). I ripped put the backseat, pulled up all the carpets and took off all of the bar pads. I got a new top for it...which I didn't leave on often...and then added the crucial bits...the stickers. You can't have too many stickers...just the rigt ones and the right amount.

Once I got her road ready, I topped her off with a bow-down car stereo and speakers. I had the speakers surgically implanted in her walls and had a detachable faceplate for the stereo. No top & no doors in FL means easy pickings for thieves.

When you get a new car, the first song played in it is very important...very important. I chose mine wisely. It had the fit and feel for driving a jeep along side the Atlantic Ocean, with no top on (the jeep, not me) and the speakers rattling in their cages: 'Blue Sky' by the Allman Brothers. There is no better song to have on the radio when the sun is shining bright, your elbow is propped up on the open window and the gas pedal feels a little sticky. Damn straight.

Ok...is there a fucking point to this post?  Why yes, there is, faithful readers. I was looking through a box of mix CDs that was buried in the back of my closet and I found my fave Steel Horse driving CD. I made this sucker one late night (early morning) in 2000 after an evening fueled by music, Turkey and friends. Its called, "Southern Thang".

If you guessed that it has a southern feel to it, you'd be right as rain. The mix is a collection of olds and news with some nice tempo changes throughout. I used to play this on the Friday ride to and from work. It was the perfect mix to get me thinking about the weekend on the way in to work and putting pedal to metal (literally...I tore out the carpets, remember) on the way home to put a paw on an ice cold beer. 

Truly great music is never dated. Just because this mix was made ten years ago doesn't mean that it won't make your big toe shoot up in your boot. I have uploaded it here so that you can all ride fast in the passing lane to these killer, southern tinged trax (look out for smokies). Here is the list:

(download)

When I moved to Australia I had to say goodbye to the Steel Horse. She and I had a great run, but it was time for us to part ways. Hey, I know what you are thinking...no, I did not take the old girl out behind the barn. The thought never even crossed my mind. Instead, I decided to give her a good home. My right hand man, Gilly, was the only one I could have trusted with the Steel Horse. Instead of selling her to Gilly for blue book or some other shit like that, I sold her for fair value. This is what I requested he give me for The Horse: 
Fair value, indeed. Gilly brought a trailer and pulled her across the state over to Sarasota. That was back in 2002, right before I left for Australia. Gilly still has the Steel Horse and rides her daily. 
_____

I'm not sure what the hell I am going to do about my expired license when I need to rent my car. Funnily enough, I need it because Gilly and his wife are coming to visit us in September; we are going to tour the English country side. Hey Gilly...make sure your license is on the up and up...you rent and I'll buy. Oh yeah, don't worry about music...I've got a sick playlist for the ride. 

Here are pics of the day I handed over the reigns of the Steel Horse to Gilly (Feb 2002)

 

 

 

The Sunday Sauce: Scenes from The Soul Kitchen

Back in August I posted about a family tradition: the Sunday Sauce. Each Sunday my old man would make a homemade pasta sauce. There is lots of Italian blood running through both sides of my family.  Have a read of that post to find about more about the tradition if you like.

Today is Sunday and I needed the plasma. I cooked up a batch of sauce and took a few snaps. As always, the key ingredient was used: music. Nothing like spending an hour or so making sauce with good rhythms and good blues playing in the background.

I have an iTunes playlist I created that I use as the soundtrack to my cooking; its called, 'Blues With a Feeling".  It is a great blend of Blues, Gospel, Country, Soul and R&B...all old, old school. Just the way I like it.

A little bit of garlic, a little bit of oregano, a little bit of Booker T. & the MGs, a little bit of Waylon Jennings and a heathy dose of Bettye Lavette.

Perfect

                                   

p.s. I made enough for everyone. Come over if you want. Bring wine.

(If you've never heard this Bettye LaVatte song...LISTEN NOW!  The Drive-By Truckers are backing her up)

It's not what you play, it's how you play it: live music puts a tiger in my tank

"Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio." 

That is a quote by one of my heroes: Hunter S. Thompson. Hunter...I miss your honesty, your true grit and your wisdom. Oh, your wisdom; the wisdom found in this statement prances and preens like one of your precious proud peacocks. I can't agree more with what Hunter is saying here: Music = Fuel.

I want to take that one step further.  If music is indeed fuel, then live music is super-unleaded; high-test; moonshine.

I've been heavily into the live portion of my collection as of late. Great live albums/songs are touchstones to me. If I need a pick me up, if I need to be jolted or if I just need a cheap thrill...I can always turn to some fave live music. 

Case in point...I am trolling the back catalog lately in anticipation for three purchases that will happen in the next two weeks: all of them live. 

I love this time of the year. Record labels are putting out lush box sets hoping to hook holiday gift buyers and solo splurgers. I am a record company's chum; sharks sniff me out and attack and rip me...and my wallet...to shreds. Bring it on. These sets tend to be grandiose with a price tag to match.  It is not that I have money to burn...if I did I would be an arsonist...but I know what I like and what I gots-ta have.

The three sets I am pacing the floor for are:

The Rolling Stones: Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out [40th Anniversary Deluxe Version]. This is the proud black panther crawlin' up and down my hall. As far as live music goes, this may be the best show of 'em all: a flat-out, hands-down, sure-bet live masterpiece. This set has the whole kit and caboodle: Three LPs, three CDs, one DVD, books, posters and a lock of Mick's pubic hair. Go HERE to check out this magnificent booty.

This album may contain my fave live tune EVER: "Little Queenie". This song has it all: Mick teases the home crowd with a shout out ("You talk a lot New York City...."), it is a cover tune and it takes that cover tune and turns it into a stone cold monster...a raunchy, only when the moon is full, full-tilt, evil-twin version. It also has multiple guitar solos in it. "Little Queenie" sets the standard for what live rock and roll can be. All this and it has Keef Richards playing some of the his best riffs ever. Dirty.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: quot; target="_blank">The Live Anthology. Four CDs of live TP & The HBs from way back to right now. Everything I hear about this positions it as bow-down material. I think I have to go BluRay version for this.

Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom - Live. I'm going for vinyl on this one. When ever I get done with a Tom Waits listening session I am unsure whether or not red means stop and green means go. Tom Waits swims against the current.

Live music...it is going to be my fuel for the holidays. I want to share a few fave live tunes with you. There is NO WAY I could begin to put together a  list of ALL of my faves...not possible. What I have for you here are ten front-burner faves that I always can turn to when my gage reads "E".  

Normally I like to embed a playlist here in this post; I couldn't find all the songs I wanted to share. Instead, I am gifting them to you in a download.  Tis the season, eh?  Here is what you will find in the playlist, including a bit of twitter'esque commentary on each:
  • Everyday I have the Blues (BB King - "Live at the Regal"): this is the first song on the album. The crowd is in BBs hand before Lucille's second solo rings out.
  • Live Wire (AC/DC - "Bonfire"): This takes place in a radio studio with a small live crowd. How do they strike sparks this fast?!  Combustible music.
  • Mean Woman Blues (Jerry Lee Lewis - "Live at the Star Club, Hamburg Germany"): Pure, unadulterated raw power. The Killer is on fucking fire here.
  • Walk It Talk It (Lou Reed - "American Poet"): Again this one is recorded live in a radio studio. Lou Reed is a rock and roller on this one...it has a definite Chuck Berry sound. 
  • Cowgirl in the Sand (Neil Young - "Live at the Fillmore"): Neil covers the spectrum of his guitar playing abilities on this: intense. Listen to Jack Nitschze's haunting piano: creepy.
  • Little Queenie (Rolling Stones - "Ya-Ya's"): Like I said, this is unmatched R&R.
  • Don't Think Twice Its Alright (Eric Clapton - "Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Special"): "Bobfest", as dubbed by Neil. This might be Clapton's last great performance. The second guitar solo makes your head shake involuntarily. Whew. And...its a cover song.
  • Emotionally Yours (The O'Jays - "Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Special"): Wow...this song has that rising power that takes you soaring with it. Emotional, indeed...
  • Caravan (Van Morrison - "Last Waltz") - Another qualifier of live greatness: the all-star jam. Van takes this one over the top with a handful of crescendos...and with a crazy purple spandex outfit [yikes!]
  • You Don't Know Like I Know: (Sam & Dave - "The Complete Stax Singles, Disk 4"): Arguably two of the greatest live performers ever. Listen to the fun and excitement in this one. You can't help but move to it. 
Download the "Live Moonshine" playlist HERE.

"So Russell... what do you love about music?" Share Your Almost Famous "Everything" Moments

William Miller: "So Russell...what do you love about music?"
Russell Hammond: "To begin with...everything".

Exactly! This is the last bit of dialogue we hear before the end of the movie, "Almost Famous". It is the scene where William finally gets his interview with Russell. It is a moment that induces head nods and knowing grins from all serious music fans. I (we) know exactly what Russell means. Everything means, well, everything

It is not any thing about the music; it is everything about the music: the songs, the vocal and musical nuances, the inspiration for the song, the actual recording of it, where they recorded, the band, the guest musicians, the album cover, the naysayers, the promoters, the stories and all of the tall tales associated with the music...everything.

Here is a bit of  "everything": 

On Bob Dylan's 2001 release, "Love and Theft", drummer David Kemper tells a revealing tale about the "training" Bob put them through initially. Rehearsals for the new album started nearly a year before recording it. Kemper said that one time, for a period of three days straight, Dylan had the band play only Dean Martin songs(?!). Dylan would have them do this with many other early legendary and unheralded American recording artists. The band would rehearse these songs over and over and then never play them again once Dylan had heard what he wanted to hear. 

A year later when they began the recording process, Dylan would introduce a new song such as, "Summer Days".  He would instruct the band to play it in the style of Dean Martin or one of the other artists they had practiced. Dylan had been training the band (a year in advance!) for the sound he wanted the album to have.  Kemper said it was like going to the "School of Americana, as taught by Bob".  That gives me a whole new perspective on the album each time I put it on. You can't go back and have a listen and not think about this. 

Everything does not have to be a legendary tall tale either. There is a scene in the director's cut of "Almost Famous" where Russell give us a hint at what he means by everything. Right before Stillwater plays their first gig, Russell is talking to William about the significance of the "littlest details in songs".  Russell said that these little details are the ones that people "remember the most".  Russell uses the "first whooo" in Marvin Gaye's, "What's Happening Brother" as an example (I included that in the Tune Tags playlist below. The "whooo" shows up at 2:15...and the first one is the memorable one).

Russell (Cameron) is right. These are the unplanned, down to the bone, in the groove moments that can make bad songs good and great songs legendary. They are real moments of inspiration and emotion that collide and combust from within the musicians...because they are feeling it. That is what makes the songs special. That is why we like these little moments.

You must have a few of these yourselves. I know I do. In the spirit of Russell's "everything" and "littlest details", I am offering up ten songs that strike sparks for me.  I have included a bit of twitter'esque detail on each "little moment".  Feel free suggest some of your favourites and I will add them to the playlist for others to put their ears to. 

  • Neil Young - "Cinnamon Girl":  Here is another "whooo" for you and it happens at 2:09.  The "whooo" coincides with this guitar solo that launchs out of the heavy-duty muck n' mire rhythm that Crazy Horse is laying down. 
  • Derek and the Dominoes - "Little Wing": Clapton and Duane Allman trading licks on a Jimi Hendrix song.  I'd shout out "whooo" too if I was Clapton (1:55)
  • The band (w/The Staple Singers) - "The Weight":  This is from The Last Waltz and it is all about Mavis Staples.  There are two bits in here that make this a bow-down track for me. This is such a "breath-y" performance.  You get the feeling she is stirring something up inside and getting ready for the pay-off (an example at 1:03). That pay-off comes at 1:26.  It is a this from the gut "unh-huh" that brings me to my knees each time I hear it. 
  • Rod Stewart - "Every Picture Tells a Story": I love this song. It always make me feel like traveling...on a whim. I think it is Rod's best penned song (with help from Ronnie Wood). At 2:35, Rod lets off a rather rowdy Whooo! (another "whooo"!). It might have something to do with Kenny Jones thundering away, Ronnie starting in with this galloping acoustic and the female back singer firing off an inspired backing vocal. Whoo indeed. (by the way, this one is on the Almost Famous soundtrack)
  • The Rolling Stones - "Prodigal Son": A two for one! One of my "little moment" here comes at the end...but the entire song is needed to make it happen. Keef is strumming the hell out of his acoustic. You think he was enjoying himself? If the abrupt and ramshackle "heeyaay" is any indication...yes. The other one is a Mick moment. At 1:55, Mick drawls off a "mercy" that almost makes you feel like he means it. 
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "Shadow of a Doubt": Another two for one. At 2:03, Tom puts this inflection on the end of "kid" that starts to rev me up...and himself, too.  The tension starts there and builds up until Tom shouts out "aaaaiy" at 2:42. The song doesn't slow down from there. 
  • Drive-By Truckers - "Sink Hole": One of my favourite "new" bands.  The Truckers tell a good story and this one by Patterson Hood is no exception. There is passion here, because it is most likely a true story.  The song moves like a stock car driver frantically trying to come up from the back of the pack. By the time Patterson gets to 3:12 and delivers that "eeeoouuuaaagh" you know he damn well means it. 
  • The Animals - "The Story of Bo Diddley": Eric Burden spends five minutes and fifteen seconds telling us Bo's story. By 5:16 he has worked himself into a tizzy and squelches off a "eeehaaaaayy Bo Diddley" that came from the soles of his feet. This is a long song, but I always find the payoff worth it. 
  • Warren Zevon - "The French Inhaler":  What a GENIUS song.  The lyrics are truly a gift to the listener.  Apparently this was about his wife (word is she was "ending up with someone different every night"). At 3:28, Zevon makes a kissing sound into the mic (the great kiss-off, perhaps). I have listened to numerous other studio takes of this track and have not heard that anywhere else. My guess is that this was a timely improve...and it works. 
  • The Rolling Stones - "Casino Boogie": Ah, Keith. The master of the perfect anti-harmony vocal. On "Exile on Main St." he was in rare vocal form. There are so many Keef moments on this album that it is hard to choose. This one always makes me smile: check out Keef's squealing of "understaaaand" at 00:46.
OK, your turn. I'll add them to the playlist...
_____

*Disclaimer:

I am a bonafide nut over Almost Famous. I love the story and the romantic notions of a life as an outsider on the inside of this cool scene that was/is Rock and Roll.  Cameron Crowe did a brilliant job recreating the times and telling his own story. Here is a funny story of my own: 

Circa 2003 I was living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My wife had gone to the Florida Keys with some girlfriends for the weekend. I came home on Saturday after a night of drinking and carousing with my buddies. I decided I was going to watch Almost Famous in its entirety...which I surprisingly did considering my state of being at the time. 

About three weeks after this night I got a package in the mail...from Cameron Crowe?! Well, it wasn't Cameron himself, but someone on his behalf. This is where things get fuzzy. Apparently, after I finished watching the movie, I went on Crowe's website. At the time they were selling screenplays from the movie with a handwritten, personally addressed note from Cameron...complete with coffee stain on the cover. I bought one. I didn't even remember that I did it. But, there it was, at my doorstep. It was nicely bound and was printed on heavy stock paper...complete with the note from Cameron.

Wow.  My wife was just shaking her head and laughing at me. I think it cost thirty or forty bucks. The funny thing is, I probably would have bought it sober. I still have it, but it is on the open sea on the way over from Sydney, Australia along with the rest of our belongings. When it gets here, I will post a picture of it and the handwritten note. 

I found a free copy online and have attached it here for reading or downloading.

Click here to download:
Cameron Crowe's (355 KB)

Tune Tags

The Goods
  • Cameron Crowe's website
  • Almost Famous Wikipedia Page (lots of great insights and factoids here)
  • Almost Famous IMBD page 
  • Check out Bill Simmons', The ESPN Sports Guy, use of Almost Famous in one of his recent columns about the offseason for the NBA (well worth the read just for the AF reference alone) 
  • Podcast that talks about the recording of "Love & Theft"
  • "Untitled": director's but/bootleg of Almost Famous (this is suberb...better than the original theatre cut)

 

You might need a tumbler of Wild Turkey with plenty of ice for this: Hunter S. Thompson, Hotel Rooms and One and a Half Suitcases...

I was listening to the iPod this morning while strolling the London footpaths. The Shuffle was working its magic, offering up a wicked three-in-a-row of My Morning Jacket > Chuck Berry > Waylon Jennings.  With The Shuffle it is a serendipitous sound surfing, never know what is coming next. 

What I got next was from The Gonzo Tapes. The Gonzo Tapes is a five CD set of audio recording of and by Hunter S. Thompson. The recordings of Hunter's mumbles, slurs and twisted Kentucky drawl cover the years of 1965-1975 and it over 100 tracks long.

If you are devout Hunter fan (like I am) you will find this utterly fascinating if not overwhelming.  It is both exhilarating and exhausting to listen to 9I mean this in a good way). When I indulge in repeat listens (of which there are many) I like to be alone in the house, turn it up very loud and double up on that tumbler of Wild Turkey. The extreme volume squelches out any other sounds in the house and disrupts any clear thoughts you may have; hang on and listen.

The Gonzo Tapes track that came up is from the Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas era. It is Hunter surveying the carnage in the hotel room after a week's stay with "Dr.Gonzo".  He is riffing on the scene for a matter of record. If you are familiar with the book, you can see the germs of the vibrant imagery and dark happenings expertly transcribed in the pages of the book. 

It is a fun tour of an apparently debauched and ravaged hotel room.  His blasé attitude is cavalier in light of the looming deadline, the heavy room tab and the severe state of his being ("I should be put in a rest home...if not a jail."). My favourite part is at 3:57 when he says, "I have no guilt". He means it, too (The Gonzo Way, Lesson #7: "Never apologise, never explain").

Here, listen and enjoy:
(download)

Hunter was a massive fan of music. It was most often a central character in his best works. Here is a quote on music from the Good Doctor:

"Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio." 

Dammit. I miss Hunter.

In 1999, Hunter was asked by a UK label to string together a playlist of his favourite Fuel to be packaged up for sale. It was called, "Where Were You When the Fun Stopped".  Back when I lived in the States, I ordered a copy from the UK by mail. It is classic Hunter.  The quote above is from the liner notes.

There are the obvious choices (obvious if you know Hunter) from Zevon, Dylan, The Airplane, Buffet and Lovett. There are also a few savvy selection of which you may never heard. Here is the coolest one of the collection:

"The Ballad of Thunder Road": Who knew Robert Mitchum sang, let alone sang bad-assed shit?! Hunter chose the Mitchum's reading of the song from the name of the same movie Mitchum Starred in.  

You willing to bet Hunter stepped hard on the gas when he heard these lyrics? I would.

Roarin’ out of Harlan, revvin’ up his mill
He shot the gap at Cumberland, and screamed by Maynordsville
With G-men on his taillights, roadblocks up ahead
The mountain boy took roads that even Angels feared to tred
.

Tune Tags

Fuel for your fire:

The Goods

Prior posts on Hunter from The 6149:
Lookee Here! (links):
Track listing for "Where Were You When the Fun Stopped":
  1. Ballad of Thunder Road - Robert Mitchum
  2. I Smell A Rat - Howlin' Wolf
  3. Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum
  4. The Hula-Hula Boys - Warren Zevon
  5. Maggie May - Rod Stewart
  6. The Wild Side of Life / It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Hank Thompson feat. Kitty Wells & Tanya Tucker
  7. Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  8. Mr Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan
  9. Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
  10. If I Had A Boat - Lyle Lovett
  11. Stars On The Water - Rodney Crowell
  12. Carmelita - Flaco Jiminez feat. Dwight Yoakam
  13. Why Don't We Get Drunk - Jimmy Buffett
  14. American Pie - Don McClean
  15. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
  16. The Weight- The Band
  17. Melissa - The Allman Brothers Band
  18. Battle Hymn of the Republic - Herbie Mann

Fleetwood Mac, Elmore James and The "GREAT" Rip-Off (bonus material: the Jeff Beck - prison sex connection & why Elvis is suspect)

Note:  When referring to Fleetwood mac in this post, I am not talking about the Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham version.  I am talking about the Peter Green stuff...the "Early Mac". 

Recently I wrote a post about the not so fine line between influence and emulate.  I also wrote one on Mick Fleetwood's celebrity podcast on iTunes (that is a joy to listen to).  Low and behold, a convergence of thoughts has occurred!

After the Mick Fleetwood post, I went and picked up some early Feetwood Mac. I needed to go back and hear their sound of that time.  In the podcast, Fleetwood spoke about the heavy influence of Delta Blues in the original incarnation of the Mac.  Infact, as history and Mick tell us, a great many British bands of the '60's were influenced by these Delta inhabitants, musicians and creators of the folk and the lore. 

I wasn't sure what to get and it was spontaneous thing, so I went for the full buffet of early Mac: a 2009 (re)release, "Black Magic Woman: The Best of Fleetwood Mac". Again, this is the Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer stuff...not the flowing scarves of everyone's favourite cocaine pixie. 

I put it on and walked London for an hour or so. 

These guys, to say the Very least, were completely affected by those old sounds they heard come across the Atlantic from the Mighty Mississippi. They wanted no misunderstandings about what their intensions were...to play just like their Delta heroes. 

This got me to thinking about the influence and emulate discussion I posed a few days earlier. Like I said, "Influence is you with a twist.  Emulate is you trying not to be you".

Early on, to all their talent and credit, I think the Early Mac were emulators. Listen to a song like, "Shake Your Money Maker". This is an Elmore James song.  Now, I am no musician so what I say may not be technically correct. I do have a pretty good ear and feel for tunes.  What my ear feels after listening to the Early Mac play this song is almost a complete duplication of Old Elmore James' version.

Fine.  No issues with that. Early Mac may have been the best British blues band of them all.  My point is that they aimed to emulate  Elmore and his brand of blues.  It wasn't just that song either.  There are a half a dozen that have the Elmore feel. Now, as Early Mac evolved, they kept some of that blues culture in their music, but their sound developed into something more personal from the band.  Yes, later on they went stone-cold different and had unprecedented success.  That situation was a horse of a much different colour...and it wasn't blue(s).

Old Elmore, he was a bit different. He was hugely influenced by his predecessors and contemporaries. Still, he ended up with a very unique sound of his own for those times. A slash and slither, electrified slide that you knew was Elmore when you heard it. One of his direct influences was Robert Johnson.  Elmore took Johnson's "Dust My Broom" and whipped it up into an all out electric, slide frenzy.  This was Elmore being influenced by Johnson's playing, but giving it his own stamp...Elmore "with a twist". 

Just for fun...let's talk Jeff Beck.  What a natural fret-freak, eh?  The Jeff Beck Group was a like a dinner guest you really wanted to have over, but knew would cause a ruckus and may put others off. This Beck incarnation played a (self admitted/anointed) heavy sound.  This band included Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass (Wow...Woody is so underrated. Listen to his bass playing...stunning).

If we lean Beck to either side of this influence/emulate discussion, it is definitely the influence side. His first two albums, Beck-OLa and Truth are fantastic...especially the former. He plays songs we know, but he plays in a style all his own. Yes, he takes on a classic by Elvis Presley, "Jail House Rock", but he sets fire to it and burns the original to embers. 

Shit, The King would never been able to shake his pelvis to this!  By the way...what the hell is up with those "Jailhouse" lyrics?!  Go Back and listen to them?  Prison-mate love anyone? Here is a bit of the lyric:

Number forty-seven said to number three:
You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
I sure would be delighted with your company,

Come on and do the jailhouse rock with me.

Yikes!

For good measure, listen to Beck's version of "I Ain't Superstitious".  Yep, more influence. 

This is all just my opinion.  I truly like all this music whether it is a rip-off or new take.  I'm glad bands like Early Mac, The Stones and the Animals found the blues.  They just might have rescued it from an ignorant (uncaring) America.

Two more parting thoughts from good friends:

Like Ol' Neil Young says: "It's all one song".
A bit of wisdom from The Good Doctor, Hunter Thompson: "I've been plagiarising all my life.  Its called learning". 

Thanks guys. Spot on.
_____

Here are the tunes I was talking about.  Put your ear to them and tell me what you think...

Feel Like Goin' Home: a playlist for homesick ramblers...

You can always go home again...at least that's what they tell me. Almost five years ago my wife and I moved to Sydney Australia. Since then I have not yet once planted a foot on American soil.  I had always intended to go back for a visit, but I never prioritised it. Actually, sometimes I was an actual victim of circumstance and other times I chose to travel other places. 

When I got to Sydney I had six weeks to explore the city and then I started a full time MBA program.  This full time MBA program (Macquarie Graduate School of Management) was an intense 12 month program. "Intense" is a good word for it.  I had one five hour class Monday through Thursday and then the rest of my waking hours were spent on individual and group projects. Fortunately I could afford to turn it into a 15 month program to lighten some of the load. 

Once I graduated, I started the job search straight away.  In hindsight I should have gone back to visit my family after I graduated.  I didn't because I had a contracting gig in the fire and wanted to strike while it was hot. Between the day I started the contract job and found full-time employment, seven months had passed. 

There were roughly 12 days off in between each term in the MBA.  My wife and I jumped on a few planes and did as many quick trips as we could in that time.  We went to the Red Centre in Australia and visited Uluru, Hong Kong, The Great Ocean Road, The Great Barrier Reef (at a cool resort called Heron Island) and a few other shorter Aussie trips. 

After the MBA we did more extensive traveling. We did a three week holiday in India.  We went North to the Jaipur and Agra (sat at the Taj Mahal at sundown on xmas eve...cool), onto Mumbai to attend a friend's wedding and then down south to Hampi and Kerola for some R&R. 

We also did a three week cruise throughout the Mediterranean, making stops in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Croatia and then back for a stay in Rome for a few nights (Rome was my hands-down fave spot).

Travel Pics:

           
Click here to download:
Feel_Like_Goin_Home_a_playlist.zip (12450 KB)

When we got here to Sydney we thought we may be here three years max. That being said, we wanted to make sure we did as much travel "over here" as possible.  Arguably we didn't even do that.  I kept thinking that a trip home would be a missed opportunity for a trip to someplace I hadn't been. 

Sadly, I have not seen my family that much due to this. They did come to Australia for a few weeks over xmas & new years in 2007.  All up, I have seen them about 24 days since I left in 2005!  Wow. Not good. 

This year I committed myself to going home.  I bought tickets to go back in August and September.  In fact...I am supposed to be there right now...literally. I even bought tickets to go see the Allman Brothers (which I told you about here) and to the Red Sox.  My family was excited as was I. Finally I was going home.  Goin' home...

Not so fast. In between booking flights and making plans to go home, we ended up deciding to move to London. Long story short, we leave Sydney on the 5th September after nearly five years and move on to London to have a go of it there. Due to this I had to cancel my trip home. I am very close to being disowned. 

So now I will have left home and moved to Australia and London without making it back to the States.  That feels wrong. The good thing is that I will be much closer to home once in London.  I plan on making a few "long weekend" trips back home as soon as possible to see the Fam and to wave the flag a bit. 
_____

While I was prepping for my return trip to the States, I made a "Going Home" playlist.  My intention was to burn it to CDs and distribute to my family and closest friends.  That ain't gonna happen.  Just the same, it is a good collection of tunes that need to be shared. I have attached the playlist for your listening pleasure. 

I started out making it by creating a smart playlist in itunes to grab all songs with "home" in the title. Then I sifted through and found ones that hit the note for me. I also threw in three other non-"home" titles. 

There were two songs that Grooveshark did not have in it's trove of tunes. I have included them here because the are important to this project.
  • Charlie Rich - "Feel Like Goin' Home (Demo)": I started exploring Charlie Rich after I read about him in Peter Guralnick's excellent book, "Lost Highway".  I went out and bought Charlie's "Essential" and gave it a whirl.  When this song came on it stopped me cold. This was RAW and powerful. It fell un-produced and real and it made me want to create this playlist. I think I listened to it a dozen times in a row.  There is a studio version on the album that is more lush.  I like this one because it is a naked as the day it was written. 
Click here to download:
1-18 Feel Like Going Home (demo).m4p (3553 KB)
  • Junior Walker - "Way Back Home": A bit of an obscure one; that is what makes it cool.  It had such a different feel than the Charlie tune.  This one is a celebration with a party going on in the background.  Junior always gets me out of my chair and has me doing the chicken wing. 
Click here to download:
23 Way Back Home.m4p (3190 KB)

Here are some highlights of the set:
  • "Goin' Home" - The Derek Trucks Band version and the Charley Patton original: Listen to the DTB first.  This is off their phenom 2009 album, "Already Free".  It is fresh and vibrant, but old timey just the same. Now go listen to Patton's version.  It is gruff and raw, but has an optimistic feel to it.  DBT captured that and brought it into 2009.  I love 'em both...
  • Chuck Berry - "Back int he U.S.A": when you think "U.S.A" music...Chuck Berry is near the top of a defining sound. This one made me feel like being picked up in a red Caddy at the airport and driving faaast back to New Hampshire. 
  • Gram Parsons - "Hickory Wind" (Byrds version):  If I ever feel homesick I put this song on.  I replace some locations (N.H. for S. Carolina) and tree types (elms for pines...Keene N.H. is the "Elm City") and sing myself back home. 
  • Bob Dylan - "I Was Young When I Left Home": It is a song/story about a young man who rambled far from home and didn't write, even though he knew he should. His homecoming was not fun one.  It is a good reminded to get home and see my family.

Grab a cold one and a picture of some loved ones and kick back with the rest...

 

Take This Job and Shove It


A good friend of mine runs a blog about her New York City exploits as "YUD" - Your Unemployed Daughter. The YUD blog details the the halcyon days and sleepless nights of a formerly high-powered media exec. You can read the YUD blog here and find out more about YUD herself here. There may not be a lot of work going on there, but there is no sortage of booze being consumed. 

Seeing as I am unemployed now, YUD invited me to play along with her and tell tall tales of my unemployment experience. Here is her intro piece and my first entry for YUD as a "YUP":
_____


(YUD's intro for me) 


I recently got this note from Judd Marcello, the husband of one of my college roommates: “I'm about to be unemployed once we move to London. Does YUD need guest bloggers? A "YUS" [Your Unemployed Son] perspective? A UK perspective?”

 

To update you briefly: J, my roommate, then housemate, now simply good friend across the world, moved to Boston after we graduated from our esteemed East Coast university. She took a job with a certain established company and has been with them ever since, moving, along with her promotions, from Boston to Miami to Sydney and now to London.

 

Judd has carved out his own career in each of those locales, quite impressively if I do say, bypassing established career path norms and hurtling conventional ladders to do what works for him—and what he’s really good at. Now, he’s choosing unemployment, embarking for the land of tea and biscuits, and deciding what will come next.

 

He says, “I'm an American in Australia moving to London, where the economic situation is at record lows where unemployment is concerned. I’ll have a good job hunt story to talk about.”

 

Indeed he will. Read on for more, and stay tuned for more of YUP’s (Your Unemployed Partner’s) adventures in unemployment.

 

In Judd’s own words:

“Sometimes with being unemployed you have the chance to hit the reset button. If you liked what you were doing...get back on the horse.  If not...choose your own adventure.”

 

I loved those fucking books.


(my posting on YUD)


"Gloriously unemployed" is how I have been describing myself of late—usually followed with an ear-to-ear-shit-eating grin.  "Willingly unemployed" is another way to describe my situation.  I just quit my job without having anywhere to go...aside from London.

 

You see, my situation is a bit different. I am currently living in Sydney, Australia, and have been for nearly five years. In a couple of weeks my wife and I move to London, where she has accepted a promotion with her company. This means that I had to fire myself again.  


Yes, I did say "again". This is the third time that I have done a big, fat, gratuitous belly flop into the unemployment pool.  A quick timeline of events to get you up to speed:

 

 

  • 2002: Wife and I are living in Boston, MA.
  • 2002: Wife gets promoted and we move to Florida.  I quit work and look for new job in Miami.
  • 2005: Wife gets promoted and we move to Australia. I quit work, get an MBA, and look for new job in Sydney.
  • 2009: Wife gets promoted and we move to the UK.  I quit work  and look for new job in London.

 

 You get the idea? Willful unemployment and I are old friends.  It is a bit of a love/hate relationship, but it works. I choose unemployment, it shakes its head at me in disgust and we agree to disagree and get on with it. "Choose" is key here.  My wife doesn't just tug on my leash and I nip at her heels (I swear).  We make the best decision for what we think is right for us...and for my career as well.

 

Chopped the "corporate ladder" into kindling means that my career has morphed into this collection of rewarding experiences that doesn't follow a traditional linear pattern. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Right?  That is what we are told when we start out career.  Find a path and dryhump it until you either make it to the top of the ladder, or you toil away at middle management job while someone better than you gets the corner office.


What I have learned from my situation is that a bag of tricks that incorporates a number of different roles, departments, people management and countries can give you more flexibility in the true path(s) you take in your career.  I am not suggesting that Bank Teller, Lawn Mower and Dog Walker are going to get you to CEO of Proctor & Gamble.  Let me give you an example of what I mean:


Originally I was hired on at my last company as a Category Manager.  A Brand Manager position opened up and I saw it as an opportunity for me to get needed experience in a pure marketing role with a very strong brand.  The role required someone who had held traditional marketing/brand management roles...of which I had none.  I applied for it and got it. The business in question was struggling. It needed to have a solid commercial backbone in order create a stronger brand presence in the market.  I got the role based on my experience as a sales manager, trade marketer and category manager even though I had no traditional brand management experience. 


To make this business successful in the market, I had to first market it internally.  Based on these past experiences, I knew what made the internal sales and category teams tick. Ultimately, I built a team of people internally who wanted to be part of a success story. I was successful at giving the business firm commercial foothold so that I could put a thick layer of fun, fluffy marketing stuff on top of it. I left the role having achieved unprecedented levels of internal support for the brand, set a few revenue and profit high water marks and learned a hell of a lot about how to market brands and about how to reach consumers.


I very much enjoyed the marketing role. I learned quite a bit of how it all works. Now, if I want to set out to be the best of the best as a marketer, I have a lot of catching up to do.  I think I would benefit from spending a bit more time in a brand role, but not as a long term, one-track-mind brand marketer. I would do it to broaden my perspective of how this "piece" of the "whole" works in context.  


As I said before, my career path is not traditional. That is fine with me; I don't like "conventional." This path has given me flexibility and, over time, has allowed me to focus in on what I do best...what makes me unique. My uniqueness.  What is that?  I am best at understanding the big picture and being able to take disparate pieces and putting them together to drive the right business outcome. I am successful at this because I am a good leader and and can create strong relationships.  My time at my last company is a direct reflection of this. 

 

So, here is the truncated version of my Job Find Manifesto, the London Edition: Find a cultural fit where my talents can be used to the greatest effect. Work in an environment that rewards risk takers.  Ensure the leadership mix in the organization has healthy doses of both experience (older) and upstarts (younger). 


Fortunately my wife's visa also applies to me. My employment opportunities will be greater because of this now that I won't have to request sponsorship from the big companies. This makes thing much easier.  More companies will be willing to have a look at me knowing they don't have to spend up to $5,000 to sponsor my visa.  

 

Yes, I am fortunate to be afforded such opportunities in life through my wife and her work. Some people call me a "kept man" or even better..."The Purse."  I think from here on in, on this blog, I will refer to myself as "YUP" (Your Unemployed Partner).  While I don't have a boss, I still have a wife/partner that I need to keep happy.  I like YUP because it is positive. Here, let me show you:

 

Wife:  You look for a job today?

Me: Yup.

Wife: You have any leads?

Me: Yup.

Wife: You have any interviews lined up?

Me: Yup.

 

See?  That sounds positive and, dare I say it, proactive.

 

Ok fellow YUDdites, I think that is enough for now. I will check in weekly as my unemployment progresses. You can play along at home as we move from Sydney to London and I ramp up the search. 

 

I leave you with a short playlist. Unemployment doesn't mean you can't kick out the jams when you need to—if anything, it’s a stronger call to action.  Pour a drink, click on the links, and take a scroll through the job listings.  

_____

A quick story.  A couple years ago at my company Xmas party here in Australia there was a karaoke set up.  I have never met a mic I haven't tried to sing in (I stress "try to sing"). The set up was lousy and there weren't may songs that I knew all the words to, but I did find one gem: the Johnny Paycheck classic, "Take This Job and Shove It". 

I couldn't resist...it had to be sung and at top volume.  We queued it up and let it rip.  I proceeded to call out my boss and every other head honcho's name at the end of each "shove it". Good times. 

What could have turned out to be one of those, "I can't believe you did that at the company christmas party...how drunk were you?!?" stories, turned out to be the stuff of legend (at least in my own mind).  Considering I had only been there a few months, I got out of it unscathed and found a new calling as corporate karaoke kingpin.  When I left the company a week ago, they showed a video of photos of me with that song playing in the background.

Good kid gone bad.  Bad song sung good.  

 

The Sunday Sauce: Keeping the Family Tradition on the Front Burner

When I was a kid, my Old Man would spend each Sunday morning making a fresh batch of homemade marinara sauce. He comes from a classic Italian-American household and is third generation (my mom is third on her side as well).  In his family (and then mine) his Mom cooked the traditional homemade sauce...the kind that needed all day to cook...and his dad made "the quick sauce". The marinara sauce is a bit simpler in preparation, ingredients and cooking time...but in no way less tasty. His dad made it.  His dad's dad made it and so on and so on.  How many people have eaten this stuff?  How much pasta has been bathed in this over the years?  How many times have I tried to duplicate the taste? Many...and I'm still trying. 

Growing up, we would always have sauce on Sunday.  The best times were during football season in the winter (I grew up in New Hampshire).  We had a roaring fire and would set up some TV trays in the living room and feast on our trad Sunday pasta meal...which was not complete without garlic bread, salad and some of my Old Man's (again, legendary) homemade meatballs. We'd watch the end of the 4:00pm game and then we'd get seconds and watch 60 minutes.  These were great family times...and some damn good food.

The Old Man's sauce really was the stuff of legend.  I used to have friends who would ask to come watch football at my place on Sunday just to be there in hopes on being asked to stay for dinner.  I had one very good friend (still is) who used to tell his parents he was going to church on Sunday night.  He would go there and pick up a flyer or some type of evidence to prove that he was there.  Instead of staying, he would show up at our house.  My Old Man would have a plate of macaroni ready to go in the microwave.  My buddy would walk in without knocking, go straight to the microwave and turn it, come in to a TV tray already set for him, eat and then leave in time to be "home from church".  This happened like clockwork.

I used to take some to college whenever I would go home and back.  My buddies would sneak over in the middle of the night, take the hidden key to the house and try and steal a container of frozen sauce to cook up back at their house.  Sometimes they would sneak in at night and heat up some sauce (even when I wasn't there) and then accidentally wake up my Old Man.  He'd come down (this is the wee hours of the morning) and help them out and feed them.  To this day they all try and get the recipe from him. Nothing doing on that front. 

My wife loves it too. She has begged me to get on with the tradition.  Since we moved to Australia I have been making it more and more.  It is not an every Sunday thing as of yet, but when we get the craving, I make the sauce.  We usually share it with friends, too. Recently I made a Sunday batch. I took some snaps of the process. Here is a pictorial jaunt through the sauce making process.  Soon enough some super-geek will enable smells and tastes to be uploaded to the internetas well. Until then, let your imagination do the wandering. 

I am also including the playlist that I shuffle through when making The Sauce.  It is full of blues, soul, country and roots music that was recommended/sold to me by The Kingfish, owner of Mojo Music in Sydney. The Kingfish's real name is Nev, hence the title of my iTunes playlist: "Nev's Nuggets".

You need good music to cook food good.  This list always stirs the pot.  The Kingfish says that blues songs with food in the title are always good un's.  An album like Andre William's "Rib Tips & Pig Snoots" is no exception...The Kingfish loves that one. How many songs with food in the title can you find...?  The playlist is sorted by albums (middle column) and has 2,505 songs in it...more than enough for second helpings.

                                 
Click here to download:
The_Sunday_Sauce_Keeping_the_F.zip (21094 KB)

(download)

A Riff-Gift: Judd's Juke Joint Playlist #7: "Hidden Charms"

If you had a chance to read about "Judd's Juke Joint" in a previous post, then this playlist will make sense to you.  If you didn't get a chance to read it, you can do so here (you may want to first):

Judd's Juke Joint: Were good people go and the good times always roll 

I have a series of playlist built in my iTunes called, what else..."Judd's Juke Joint Playlist".  I thought I would post one of them here and give you a bit of commentary around each of the songs as well as provide a download for the whole set...a "Riff-Gift". Why not?  I always say, the only thing I enjoy more than listening to music is sharing it.  

I have a flow and feel to each of my mixes.  Most often the first four songs are of the same vibe. Then I might shift gears.  This gives us enough time to get in the groove and have the stage set for the rest of the set.  Depending on why I am compiling it, be it for myself, for a party or a specific audience, I will vary the musical style and tempo.  I most often like to start out like a rocket an lay down a serious boogie beat or a rock and roll strut or a soul grove.  I might then work my way into a country-rock flavored feel (I like to use Gram Parsons, "Cosmic American Music" term to describe 'country-rock'...I hate labels and genres anyhow). I'll pick up the tempo and then set 'er back easy again and then end it on a feel.  They don't always follow a same pattern as is the case with today's JJJ Playlist.

Today's Riff-Gift is: Judd's Juke Joint Playlist #7: Hidden Charms. Currently there are twelve JJJ Playlists.  I like "Hidden Charms" because it starts out with it's hair on fire and doesn't cool off until we downshift (slightly) to a magnificent Warren Haynes song. So, here is a song by song commentary on "Hidden Charms".  I'll keep to a twitter-like 140 characters to make it short and punch...there are 25 songs on this playlist and I could talk about them all day and night over many a cold beer. Here goes nothing...

Judd's Juke Joint Playlist #7: Hidden Charms
Download Here

  1. "Medicated Goo" - Traffic:  This is a party starter.  Winwood's vocals and that jaunty piano keep this thing moving along.  Before you know you are rocking along and bouncing back and forth.  The Goo is good for you.
  2. "Them Changes" - Buddy Miles:  Buddy is playing with such passion on this, he may just actually "commit a crime".  Driving horns an a pulsing drum beat...percussion, percussion...Buddy Miles is stompin' a groove.  He was Monster who has not received his proper due. I like this version better than the one on the "Band of Gypsies" disc.
  3. "Promised Land" - Johnnie Allan:  This is a Chuck Berry song, but Johnnie OWNS this. If you could start out a car in 5th gear and shoot down a quarter mile stretch, this would be the song equivalent.  This song boils my blood...when he starts callin' back home, the Poor Boy killin' it!
  4. "Honest Papas Love Their Mamas Better" - Fats Domino: The finger poppin' beat, the bulbous guitar licks and the rollicking piano make this a Fats classic.  This is one of those songs that gets lost in the cracks and when you hear it, you wonder "where the hell has this been and how many more like it are out there"!
  5. "Hidden Charms" - Howlin' Wolf: A rockin' blues beat from The Wolf.  The little guitar run 5 seconds into it makes me laugh. The Wolf give the vocal his all. Watch out when The Wolf gets his weight behind the groove.
  6. "Grits Ain't Groceries" - Little Milton: The lyrics/chorus for this song gets me every time. A gruff vocal performance, blaring horns and a driving beat bring home the bacon.
  7. "Gunslinger" - Bo Diddley: A JJJ stone cold hero. The Bo Diddley beat is one of the greatest inventions in the world.  DId you know Bo was an actual sheriff in New Mexico. No word if he actually wore a rose on his chest.
  8. "Greyhound" - Merced Blue Notes:  This song plays like a cross country Greyhound bus ride across a long stretch of land.  If the bus was running out of gas, they could put this track in the tank. 
  9. "Gonna Move" - Paul Pena: What a story on this guy. His first album was released 27 years after it was recorded.  This song sizzles and is autobiographical.  He originally penned the Steve Miller Band hit, "Jet Airliner". Read more about Paul here
  10. "It Ain't What You Do, It's How You Do It" - J. Geils Band: Raw energy here, folks.  There are two bands I would have liked to play in: The Band & the J.Geils Band.  Can you imagine being in a small club in Boston when they were hitting the circuit and making a name for themselves?  
  11. "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" - Warren Zevon: This is a live version of the recently re-released, "Stand in the Fire".  I LOVE this live album. It ranks in my Top 10 live albums ever. Warren is on Fire here...crazy, wild performance.
  12. "Cleaning Windows" - Van Morrison:  Great story in this song...name calling all of his musical heros.  He's a working man in his prime...happy cleaning windows and listening to Jimmy Rodgers on his lunch break. 
  13. "Soulshine" - Warren Haynes:  Haynes wrote this for an Allman Brothers album.  This is a live acoustic performance...there is so much depth in this perfornance...you need a few deep breaths after listening. The guitar work is inspiring and the crowd is part of the tune they are so into it. This one goes out to Brother Dave Mini...yes, Dave, it is better than moonshine. 
  14. "Before the Money Came (the Battle of Betty Lavette" - Bette Lavette: Wow...this woman is all soul, grit and attitude.  I love her power in this autobiographical performance.  Don't mess with Bettye.  The Drive-By Truckers back her up...brilliant. 
  15. "Cummins Prison" - Calvin Leavy:  A hidden blues gem if you ever done heard one.  Cummins Prison was a real place...a violent and unscrupulous evil prison where you never want to end up.  Calvin was there so this song is first hand.  It has a guitar break in it that could start a mudslide.
  16. "Poor Black Mattie" - R.L. Burnside:  Ol' R.L...I love this man.  He was real as bone. I love this song and the lyrics.  He was even more primal than John Lee. Here is a video performance of this version of the song. Look at R.L., having a balls-out good time and doing his thing. 
  17. "Funny How Time Slips Away" - Al Green & Lyle Lovett:  I love the interplay on here...two contrasting styles making beautiful, real music.  Al has fun at the end and it makes the song. 
  18. "Bob Wills is Still the King - Waylon Jennings:  Waylon "didn't become a legend by following the rules".  I love his spirit on this tune.  The jokes about Willie Nelson with the audience are too cool
  19. "Sweet Peach Georgia Wine" - Levon Helm: A pure "Levon tune" from one of his solo albums. So typical Levon...fun, old-timey, sing along tune that tells a story about some "sweet peach" who gets him sent to the pokey
  20. "Already Free" - Derek Trucks Band:  The hisses and pops make it sound like an old 78 rpm record...and the Charley Patton guitar lines take you back to a dirt road in the Delta.  Love the lyrics; this is a cousin to "Soulshine".
  21. "Your Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond" - Taj Mahal: Taj has a style all his own that pulls and picks off of a wide scope of sounds. This song moves on down the line with great harp riff
  22. "Pressure Drop" - Toots and the Maytals:  Toots...my favorite reggae artist.  This song is in my all time TopTen tunes.  I play this when I need a release valve and to remind me the things that stress me out aren't worth it.
  23. "Shadow of a Doubt" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:  Think these guys don't know pure riff-laden garage rock...try this one out.  It's a great bar band song some band should make a staple of their set
  24. "Bloody Mary Morning" - Willie Nelson: A KILLER live tune.  Willie's guitar playing is no finger picking here...this is a SOLO.  I love this song and this live "outlaw" period for Willie.  The band is shit-hot, too.
  25. "It Tears Me Up" - Percy Sledge:  The sheer power and soul in Percy's voice is so honest, you want to console him on this number.  You can taste the slat of his tears when you listen to this. This is a Dan Penn tune...you know of dan Penn, right...?
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