I got the Blues - Part Two

Originally posted on facebook - late November 2010

10 – Mr E’s Beautiful Blues – The Eels.
This is the only Eels song I know, as it appeared on one of the compilation CD’s from the Panel. I don’t really know what its about, and maybe I am taking it out of context, but it just seems to put me in a good mood when I hear it, I think it’s the line “goddam right it’s a beautiful day” that features in the chorus.

9 – Goldfields Blues – Tim Rogers.
Tim is back, this time with an entry from his album "Spit Polish". I find this song very catchy, as Mr Rogers sings about heading across to WA on a plane, with a bar tab running. Great stuff.

8 – Singing in Vietnam Talking Blues – Johnny Cash.
If you aren’t familiar with this song, then the title of it pretty much sums up what it is. It is an incredibly simple song, but I find it quite moving. During the Vietnam War, Cash and his wife June went across to perform for the troops, and delivered in spoken word, Cash talks about the experience, and how scared they were, and how they would spend their days at the hospital talking to the injured, then perform at night. For some reason, it just really gets under my skin, a very powerful track. And for those of you that like Johnny Cash, you may not have seen the last of him on this list!!

7 - This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues –
Rodriguez.
I have already talked about Rodriguez (see number 16), but this song is a cracker, probably accurately described as an outburst. Check out the opening lines to get the general drift of the song:
“The mayor hides the crime rate, council woman hesitates , Public gets irate but forget the vote date , Weatherman complaining, predicted sun, it's raining, Everyone's protesting, boyfriend keeps suggesting, you're not like all of the rest.”

6 – Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran.
What a song!! What a great guitar hook!! What else can I say? This song just sums up the frustrations of being young perfectly. I love the part where he turns to his congressman for help, but is refused because he is too young to vote. Great, great stuff.


I know, the suspense is probably killing you, so here it is, the top five blues songs:

5 – Cocaine Blues – Johnny Cash.
I can’t really put my finger on what it is I like about this song, given the lyrics discuss some irresponsible behaviour, including a very poor attitude to woman (and ultimately shooting a woman!). But I think its Cash’s vocal delivery that does it for me, it really makes you get into the mind and understand the character that he is singing in, great stuff, with the Tennessee Three’s trademark rhythm keeping time.

4 – Yer Blues – The Beatles.
Who would have thought a song with such morbid lyrics (eg. “I’m lonely, wanna die”, “feel so suicidal, even hate my rock n roll”) would sound so good? But that’s what you get when you talk about the Beatles. A great blues song, that suits the “anything goes” vibe of the White Album perfectly!

3- Roadhouse Blues – The Doors.
Another great blues rock song, with Jim Morrison’s great vocals being showcased. One of the Doors best.

2- Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash.
Johnny’s third entry in this list is his best. Despite borrowing heavily (in melody and even some lyrics) from a little known Gordon Jenkins song “Crescent City Blues”, “Folsom Prison Blues” is a gem of a song, written in such a way that it elicits sympathy for an inmate who “shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die”. The song perfectly describes the frustrations of prison life, juxtaposed with the train the prisoner can hear. Although the prisoner hypothesizes about what the train passengers are doing (“they’re probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars”), it’s the freedom they have that he really yearns, demonstrated by the fact that the train moves along, whilst the prisoner must stay still, behind the walls. This perfectly sums up the loss of freedom that comes with being in prison

1- Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bob Dylan.
The lead track on “Bringing It All Back Home” gets my vote as the best “blues” track. From its innovative film clip, to Bob’s frantic rambling of lyrics (including the brilliant line “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”), to the great tune that it is set to, its just an amazingly enjoyable listen.

So there it is, my first musical list. I hope you enjoyed it. Next list will be coming up soon....

Go Blues!!!

I Got the Blues - part ONE

This was originally posted on facebook - late November 2010

The first list is going to be themed - "I Got the Blues". The premise is "blues" songs. Not necessarily blues in the genre, but blues as in songs that are the xxxx blues. So, for example, "Blue Sky Mining "would not be eligible, but Jimmy Page's "Prison Bues" would be. I am even going to be tough, and say that Elton's "I guess thats why they call it the blues" would also be ineligible. Hopefully you get the drift.

Anyway, we will start with numbers 20 - 16

20 - "Duxton Blues" - 7 Worlds Collide.
7 Worlds Collide is the side project of Neil Finn whereby he gets all his musical mates (guys from Wilco, Radiohead, KT Tunstell, and many others) to make music. This track features Augie March's Gleen Richards on lead vocals. Its one of the weaker songs of a very very good album, which means its still a good track. And the title for some reason always brings back memories of my firiends Pete and Simone. After their wedding, many of their family and friends had post wedding drinks at the Duxton Hotel...

19 - "Stray Cat Blues" - (originally the Rolling Stones).
I must admit, I haven't heard the original Rolling Stones version. The one in my collection is the excellent duet from Rockwiz, featuring the Living End's Chris Cheney, and the Divinyls Chrissie Amphlett. An awesome rocking blues duet from two great talents.

18 - "Mean Woman Blues" - Roy Orbison -
who hasn't recorded a version of this song? I don't even know which one the original is. But Roy's voice is great, so I am putting his version in.

17 - "A Mess of Blues" - Elvis Presley -
if there is such a thing as trademark Elvis, this would be it. Its root oriented, and Elvis's singing ability is showcased. Great stuff.

16 - "Inner City Blues" - Rodriguez.
More people need to know about the brilliant Rodriguez, and in particular his 1970 album Cold Fact. He writes though provoking lyrics, protest songs if you like, and although some would call him Dylan-like (at one stage he was called "Detroit's answer to Dylan"), that really is pigeonholing him. If I can quote from allmusic.com, as its a good description of the sort of genre you would put this man into"There was a mini-genre of singer/songwriters in the late '60s and early '70s that has never gotten a name. They were folky but not exactly folk-rock and certainly not laid-back; sometimes pissed off but not full of rage; alienated but not incoherent; psychedelic-tinged but not that weird; not averse to using orchestration in some cases but not that elaborately produced. And they sold very few records."

15 – Singer Songwriter Blues –Tim Rogers.
From the solo album “Dirty Ron”, this song is a bit of fun, with Rogers sense of humour coming to the fore.

14 – Yesterday’s Blues – Ryan Bingham.
A new song, to show that I am hip with new music (Because country music is really gonna give me a lot of cred!!! Hehehe). You may be familiar with Bingham from the movie “Crazy Heart”. He won the Best song Oscar for his contribution to this movie. I have his first album “Mescalito”, which is a great country/rock album, sort of in the Springsteen vein. Anyway, I just recently picked up his new album, “Junky Star”, which contains “Yesterday’s Blues”, a sweet little country ballad. This song has done well to make the list after only two listens.

13 – Tombstone Blues – Bob Dylan.
I don’t actually have the Dylan version in my collection, but I have a version from Sheryl Crow’s “Live from Central Park” album, where Sheryl performs this with a host of other names, including the Dixie Chicks, Chrissie Hynde, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and others. For those that don’t know it, it’s a great blues song, with funny lyrics.

12 – San Francisco Bay Blues – Eric Clapton.
Although it’s a traditional song, the version I know is from Clapton’s Unplugged album. It gets bonus marks for the use of the kazoo, which is totally under-used in modern music (yes, people, I am a loser!!!) Perhaps best songs featuring a kazoo might be a future list topic (Queen’s Seaside Rendezvous, please be on standby!!!)

11 – Kozmic Blues – Janis Joplin.
I am not really a huge Joplin fan, but this is a good song, showcasing that amazingly powerful voice that she has.