Travelling home

There are many things you can call home, a country, a neighbourhood, a house, a van, a person..... or your local pub.

I am lucky, in that I have all those things to call home.

There are few things that render me such an emotional nostalgic wreck as the idea of coming home, and seeing as this feeling resonates with me in so many aspects, it´s a feeling I am well accustomed to.

Music gives this feeling a partner in sound,  and these to me are the best examples.


Tim Buckley- Happy Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpMyogpnx0U

Sweet and warm and light, the sound of spring......it´s a happy time inside my mind when a melody does find a rhyme, says to me i´m comin home to stay...... It´s beautiful, advising his mama to "let the morning sun warm your bed while i´m away".

John Martyn- Over The Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwjL3ipBAhg

This beautiful little ditty seems as conflicted and baffling as the man himself. On first listen it´s a yearning for a countryside home and his wife, but it seems the touring life isn´t going to let go too easily. It seems more that home seems to him like an easy escape from ´sweet cocaine and mary jane´, as "there´s just one place for a man to be when he´s worried about his life". Not so romantic then, but a charming tune nonetheless.


Bonnie Raitt- Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hmnRg1Q67E

I love this woman and will not rest till she is worshipped for the goddess she is. Her voice to me has a sense of mourning, and is put to great use in this song. "Home sings me of sweet things, my life there has it´s own wings", beautiful stuff, and great imagery.
Travelling at night, the headlights were bright.....


Terry Reid- Faith To Arise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd63GVczu-8

This is such a sweet honest song. He describes being far away, away from his loved one and missing her, and he is on the phone to her and finds he has nothing to say, he just wants to BE THERE. Beautiful lyrics and gorgeous country slide in the mix.


Jethro Tull- Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG71S9VGKqQ

It´s so beautiful! So epic, slightly sad.....yet triumphant. Utterly romantic. Under 3 minutes of grand orchestration. "As the dawn breaks over sleepy gardens, I´ll be here to do all things to comfort you. And though I´ve been away, left you alone this way, why don´t you come awake and let your first smile take me home".

If you got it, a truck brought it

 Another example of glorious artwork, a bootleg this time......
Little Feat- On the other foot

Although the sound is slightly muffled, this recording undeniably catches the raw incendiary groove that Little Feat are so well loved for.

It is endearingly created, in very much a rough and homemade style. It is labelled as 'a big boot prod', and uses a name logo that I have never seen on other Little Feat releases.

The sensual stuff

If you grow up listening to listening to the kind of stuff I did, regardless of how varied it is, you are still presented with sexuality from a very skewed, and very 'male' point of view. Perhaps this is because the women who write and sing openly and confidently about sexuality have been historically suppressed, or tend to be more underground, simply because mainstream press get all uncomfortable about it? I can't think of any parent I know having any major objections to their child listening to say Led Zep's talk of lemon squeezing and juice running, or frankly everything by AC/DC, or the mythical fecundity of early British folk, or any of Leonard Cohen's musings. I don't know if that is because they are respectively, too cryptic, too jokey, too  traditional or too artfully poetic, but however you look at it, male sexuality, whilst not necessarily 'celebrated', is very much the given lyrical content in classic pop music of the 20th century. Female sexuality in pop music lyrics has been harder to seek out, and still has an idiotic element of taboo, which is probably partly why I find it so fascinating.

It would be ignorant and patronising to one-dimensionally categorise relevant examples in the depressing way women often are in the music industry (predator, virgin, scorned harpee....? All relatively familiar) but it has been an exciting adventure to more recently discover such glorious and varied examples of honest and open female songwriting that do not play a role, and do not distinguish between topics of sex and of love, rather to weave them together in an honest reflection of life. It is wonderful to discover lyrical celebrations of wilder sexual fantasies and desires, of smiles at blissful memories, of humiliations, of insecurities and of desperation.

Within this spectrum, likewise, it comes packaged as cryptic, jokey and artfully poetic along with the wonderfully sly, and brass balls bold. The shame would be for anything to be enjoyed for the novelty.....  but perhaps half of its effect comes from the fact that relative to male sexuality, it is still a novelty to hear about?
I don't know.
What I do know is, as much as I love music from a man's point of view, its thrilling to hear from the ladies.

Anyway, here's some stuff.

Joni Mitchell- Coyote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2rfbuaMXKM
On this live version she really flies, and her face says it all, delicious memories, tinges of disappointment but no regrets.
....dancing close and slow now he's got a woman at home, he's got another woman down the hall he seems to want me anyway, why'd you have to get so drunk and lead me on that way?....

Cowboy Junkies- Black Eyed Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFK6amxyGd8&list=PL_P9ZyOUxwnM0LUXmJQxMzlPjKtpf2Ms9&index=2
Her face at this point :
....and he did things to me, things of which I dream of still........
Just elated, and ever so slightly fondly rueful.

Liz Phair- Flower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZC-EOs_fyA
If I quote any sentence from this it will become a fairly X-rated post and I can't work out if this song has a predatory swagger or a 'sit outside your house with binoculars' kind of vibe but either way... brilliant.

Georgia White- Was I Drunk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlwIHF45rY0
Every time I think of him do I shiver?

Tori Amos- Precious Things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi9NUoZmulU
Resentful, insecure, angry, defiant.
...So you can make me come it doesn't make you jesus....

Sippie Wallace- I'm A Mighty Tight Woman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYFUaGb4C1M


Tori Amos- Leather
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccMSpf0YuQQ
..I can scream as loud as your last one, but i can't claim innocence....


Ani DiFranco- Dilate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPi2FyzF9c8

Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash

Michael Nesmith is an incredibly interesting and talented bloke, and this is a great album, but this post is focused not on the content but the sheer beauty of the presentation.

Anyone who knows me is aware that I shot myself in the financial foot long ago by falling in love with every musical medium (bar the minidisc... obviously.....), and in some cases have the same album on tape, mp3, vinyl AND cd.

This said, it is widely documented that vinyl just has that tactile advantage. Its a work of art. Or it can be, hence the point I'm making. There is so much potential with the size and layout of vinyl record that some just seem a bit wasted, from the visual point of view. Yes its almost all about the music, but no music fan can deny that they have fallen for a record on sight, with the desperate hope that the listening experience will match. It doesn't always work however, i.e. intriguing cover, sub-par sounds (Billy Swan, ahem). My friend Ed recently bought a trumpet based comp with a cover that implied life changing potential. Mild disappointment was the theme of that afternoon, and lives did not change, needless to say.

Anyway, in terms of vinyl presentation, I think this one might be perfection. It is in keeping (but not in a themey way) with the music and it very much suits the man and his humour.

Life size portrait of Mike on the cover. Ideal kissing size (not essential, but in this case helps). B+W Avedon-style photo, very honest. Clear text supports dry title.

Charming cheeky note.

Back of sleeve is rainbow fade..... 

Gatefold inner picture shows Michael looking like some Waylon styled badass cowboy in a lake surrounded by Pre-Raphaelite red headed sirens and lilies. 

The gatefold text is a glorious stream of consciousness musing from Nesmith about the making of records, the artistic process and the industry generally, rounding off with: 

Well, what the heck, if there's no reason and it doesn't make any difference, then just don't do it... get a job, make something of yourself... as if yourself weren't something...why go through the thousands of dollars and aggravation of making a record to sell. I've thought about that a lot... I'm sure there's an answer, but it beats me. At least I'm prepared to accept anything...waxed fruit, tree surgery, whatever. And if I don't come to a fork in the round, I don't panic anymore, I just assume that one is the road and the other is a road off to the side.

With one final disclaimer, if you catch it

After two or three months this album may lose potency although some aroma may linger.

Now that's how you do album design.

Clifton Chenier

King of the Bayou........

This Creole legend and blues accordionist was born in 1925 and grew up in Louisiana. In the 50's he had some mainstream success, the way paved by Prof Longhair and his popularisation of Louisiana's brand of R'n'B. Along with his band, the Zydeco Ramblers he toured for years, becoming beloved in his home state and critically acclaimed throughout the country. He found a new wave of mainstream popularity later on in life, winning a Grammy in the early 1980's and continuing touring until a Diabetes-related kidney disease ended his life in 1987. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame.

His energy was infectious, and his style of playing is hailed as revolutionary. He sang both in French and English, and his repertoire included various aspects of cajun and zydeco music, like blues, country, r'n'b, and boogie-woogie. Clifton's son CJ continues his legacy, performing his own energetic brand of Zydeco around the world.

'Tighten Up Zydeco'.... hear that spark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am7d9Uj122M

'Sont Pas Sales' Zydeco classic recorded live. Check out that washboard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVwUf3O--s4

'When You Going To Sing For Me' ...serious blues accordian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGnu9VYq-u8

'I'm a Hog for You'.....live footage of a bluesy number in both English and French
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYkehxwpel4


QI: Chenier (pronounced SHENeer) has been widely referenced by other artists, for example as the subject of the Rory Gallagher song 'The King of Zydeco', and in the Paul Simon song 'That Was Your Mother' from the massively popular 'Graceland'.

Betty Davis

Get ready for Betty...........

Betty never had the success she deserved at the time of her releases, but no doubt she was just too many miles ahead of the game for people to understand. Totally fierce, raunchy, confident and strong, she intimidated people who believed in more traditional gender roles. It's a shame, because although her lyrics and persona were seen as extreme and darkly predatory, it's actually really joyful. A musical celebration of openness, playfulness, confidence and sexuality. 

Betty was born Betty Mabry in 1945, and wrote songs from a young age. At 16 she moved to New York, where she worked as a model and studied fashion and soaked up the booming folk scene. By the mid 60's she had written songs for the Chambers Brothers and The Commodores and she was good friends with Sly Stone and Hendrix. In '68 she met (and promptly married) Miles Davis, who was greatly inspired by her sound and her friends, and his experimentation with funk and rock began.

She released her first, self-titled album in 1973, produced by Greg Errico (the Family Stone drummer). This contained the single 'If I'm In Luck I Just Might Get Picked Up', clearly a funk classic, but neither the album or singles set the charts alight. She released two further albums 'They Say I'm Different' and 'Nasty Girl' but none of her efforts had mass appeal.

Her lyrical content seems explicit even by today's standards, ('You dragged my name in the mud… but I used to leave you hanging in bed by your fingernails' and 'He was a big freak, I used to beat him with a turquoise chain') and in the 1970's some religious groups took offence to this brazen woman who wrote about her sexual desires and exploits. Some radio stations were also uncomfortable with her attitude and banned her music. After one more shelved record for Island in 1976, a frustrated Davis left the industry for good.

Although she thinks of herself primarily as a songwriter and 'not a great singer', her vocal and performance style have been hugely influential, as has her image. You can hear and see it in artists such as Prince, Beyonce, Grace Jones, Ludacris, Lenny Kravitz, Outkast, Lil Kim and Erykah Badu. Many people have noted her influence on Madonna, although I enjoy Carlos Santana's observation, that Betty "was the first Madonna, but Madonna was like Donny Osmond by comparison." He also recalls Betty as "indomitable – she couldn't be tamed. Musically, philosophically and physically, she was extreme and attractive".

A few years ago the stars at label Light In The Attic re-released Betty's albums, so no doubt she will be influencing many more generations to come.

Here we go:

'If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2B0FBdzGis   .....try not to pass out..... 

'They Say I'm Different'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKWPynScqgw.... getting off, humping to John Lee Hooker.......

'Nasty Girl'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf5NUBIcEyU

'If I'm in Luck' covered by Iggy Pop. Great fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H98t0-D4wlY

QI: Without Betty's suggestion the classic Miles 1970 album Bitches Brew would have been called Witches Brew.......

Dr Hook and The Medicine Show

Well we're big rock singers, we've got golden fingers

and we're loved everywhere we go

We sing about beauty and we sing about truth

at 10,000 dollars a show

We take all kinda pills that give us all kinda thrills but the thrill we never know

Is the thrill that'll getcha when you get your picture on the cover of Rolling Stone......

You will rarely hear a more joyful, playful and entertaining band than this one.

There are often seen as being two musical sides to Dr Hook, mostly seen as the earlier, rougher country rock and the later slicker, safer, more romantic output. In my view, the division is not that clear as the band has been fairly multi-faceted throughout their career but either way, there is something for anyone who enjoys well crafted songs and the art of the gloriously chaotic rock and roll performance.

I have to admit, the early stuff is right up my cup of tea, so that is the area I will concentrate on. The band formed in New Jersey in 1968, and legendary songwriter (and children's author!) Shel Silverstein recruited them to sing alongside him in the Dustin Hoffman film 'Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying All Those Terrible Things About Me?' which, despite the film's lack of success, brought them some notoriety.

Shel is renown for his witty, bizarre and very very clever songs and much of the Dr Hook output were Shel covers, and tracks co-written with him. The band were named for singer Ray Sawyer's distinctive pirate- style look (he wore an eye patch having lost an eye in a car accident).

My favourite line- up is Ray Sawyer and Dennis Loccorriere on vocals, with Billy Francis on keyboards, George Cummings on electric guitar, Rik Elswit on acoustic guitar, Jay David on drums and Jance Garfat on bass. The band had a very fluid set up though, and almost all the band members came up front to sing at some point or another. Rays voice is a country twang, and full of humour whilst Dennis switches from a gritty howl ('Cops 'n Robbers') to a sensitive vibrato ('Only Sixteen'). Both George and Billy have deep, sensual voices, put to best use on songs like 'Get My Rocks Off' and 'Penecillin Penny'. Rik has more than a passing resemblance to Garth from Wayne's World (watch him sing the live vocal in 'Everybody's making it Big But Me' and you'll get it).

Part of what makes them so refreshing, and no doubt especially did at the time, is that they didn't take themselves too seriously. Many of their tracks reference and poke fun at the famed decadent rock star lifestyle with all it's trappings- one such song was 'Cover of Rolling Stone'..... announcing that the way to know you had 'made it' was to make the cover of Rolling Stone.

Most of the videos I have linked below are live performances. This is not to say that they aren't a great studio band, because they are, but Dr Hook and the Medicine Show live are a sheer celebration of performance and friendship and fun. What you may notice is that in most of these videos there seems to be an astonishing level of intoxication......... this is very entertaining, but never makes for a sloppy performance. There is footage where you worry that Dennis wont be able to stay upright, yet his voice never falters. Except to break out in a fit of giggles. Which he does, often.

'Carry Me, Carrie' on Shel's Houseboat. Beautiful performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Z50V7tadg&feature=related

'Freakin At The Freaker's Ball'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGLERfPg178&list=FLzbckeWT2NODJdv4lJhZTUw&index=49&feature=plpp_video

'Everybody's Making It Big But Me' on the Old Grey Whistle Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv_TA2S2z34&list=FLzbckeWT2NODJdv4lJhZTUw&index=47&feature=plpp_video

'The Cover of Rolling Stone'- it worked!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH_npzCeg30&list=FLzbckeWT2NODJdv4lJhZTUw&index=48&feature=plpp_video

'Only Sixteen' Dennis shows his beautiful voice on this Sam Cooke cover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7OxF3oQFzw


'Get My Rocks Off', quite a performance from Billy, throwing shapes. All splayed long legs. Like a sexy denim clad Praying Mantis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aY6PFccu-k&list=FLzbckeWT2NODJdv4lJhZTUw&index=5&feature=plpp_video


QI: Shel Silverstein wrote Johnny Cash's hit 'A Boy Named Sue'