Tag Archives: song of the week

Song of the Week – Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out, The Beatles

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Today’s SotW is about the most popular songs I’ve ever posted about. The occasion is the 50th anniversary of one of my favorite singles releases evah! On December 8, 1965, The Beatles released the double A-sided single “Day Tripper”/”We Can Work It Out.”

The songs were recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions.

“Day Tripper” was written specifically to be released as a single. Recording for it occurred on October 16th and was completed that day. They rehearsed in the afternoon and then they recorded the rhythm track in three takes. Vocals were overdubbed in the evening.

The opening riff is a variation on Bobby Parker’s “Watch Your Step” (which was also the inspiration for “I Feel Fine”). The energy builds quickly as bass, a rhythm guitar and tambourine enter, capped off by a drum roll and cymbal crash. (The tambourine was used extensively on the Rubber Soul sessions.)

“We Can Work It Out” was recorded four days later on October 20th and nearly completed save for some final vocal overdubs recorded on October 29th. It is special in that it is one of a very few true Lennon/McCartney collaborations written after their very early days together.

Who wrote what is easy to discern as it plays right into the boy’s reputations – Paul’s positive, upbeat verse/chorus set against John’s cynical middle eight.

One of the things that we Beatlemaniacs love about their music is that almost every song is like a box of Cracker Jacks – it has a “surprise” inside. On “We Can Work It Out” it is the shift to waltz time in the section that bridges back to the verse. That was George’s contribution.

When the sessions began it was assumed “Day Tripper” would be the A-side. But everyone was so pleased with the way “We Can Work It Out” sounded that they changed their minds… except John. He wanted to lead with “Day Tripper” and lobbied hard for it. The compromise was to release the double A-side. Genius!!!

You’ve got to admit, they just don’t make them like this anymore.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Outta My Mind, The Arcs

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As we get close to the yearend I start to think about some of my favorite albums of the last 12 months. One of the recordings on my list for 2015 is Yours, Dreamily by The Arcs.

The Arcs is a side project by The Black Keys front man, Dan Auerbach. The restless Auerbach – he’s also kept busy by producing albums for Dr. John and Lana Del Rey – pursued this to fill two weeks he suddenly had on his hands after Black Keys bandmate Patrick Carney separated his shoulder, forcing some tour date cancellations. (Auerbach also produced Bombino’s 2013 album Nomad, featured as the SotW August 31, 2013.)

For The Arcs, Pitchfork reported that Auerbach recruited “Truth and Soul Records founder Leon Michels, Black Keys touring bassist Richard Swift, Menahan Street Band member Homer Steinweiss, Amy Winehouse collaborator Nick Movshon, and guitarist Kenny Vaughan.”

This larger group allows Auerbach the space to “do his thing” outside the confines of the two piece, guitarist/drummer limitation he faces with The Black Keys. And it works. The basic DNA of the “Keys” is still there but the songs have more depth with the added instruments.

Today’s SotW is “Outta My Mind.”

Selecting this cut, the album opener (after a short instrumental intro), is a little bit of a cop out since it is the song that sounds most like The Black Keys – albeit with more instrumental depth and a tighter arrangement.

Auerbach exclaims:

I heard I lost my self-control
But everything I did just went and turned to gold
and
I’m old enough to know the game
But pushing buttons now is all that keeps me sane

Clearly he has something to say about his own success in “the business.”

The rest of the album breaks out of this blues/garage rock mold and is worth checking out.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – I’m in Love with My Car, Queen

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Today is the 40th anniversary of the release of Queen’s classic album, A Night at the Opera. Everyone is most familiar with the first single from the album that also happens to be their signature song, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But for those of you that have been reading the SotW for a while, you know I’m not going there. Instead, let’s listen to the b-side, “I’m in Love with My Car,” which was written and sung by the band’s drummer, Roger Taylor.

As the story goes, the song was written for Johnathan Harris, one of the group’s roadies, who was a car buff. (A note on the album cover says the song is “Dedicated to Johnathan Harris, boy racer to the end”.)

I always heard the song’s reference to an automobile as a metaphor for a woman, combining two of the most popular subjects in rock ‘n’ roll, cars and girls. But hey, what do I know… maybe I just have a dirty mind.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Brickyard Blues, Frankie Miller

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If you’re even a casual music fan (and you’re more than that if you’re reading this) you already heard that Allen Toussaint died last Monday, November 9th.

Toussaint, the legendary New Orleans musician, songwriter and producer, was responsible for many of the most important songs in the canon of rock and soul.

The list goes on and on. Here are a few of the most important and memorable.

Mother-in-Law – Ernie K-Doe
Working on a Coal Mine – Lee Dorsey, Devo
Ooh Poo Pah Doo – Jesse Hill
Southern Nights – Glen Campbell
Java – Al Hirt
Fortune Teller – The Who, The Rolling Stones and many others
What Do You Want the Girl (Boy) To Do – Boz Scaggs, Lowell George, Bonnie Raitt
A Certain Girl – The Yardbirds, Warren Zevon
Yes We Can Can – The Pointer Sisters

… and there are so many more.

Today’s SotW is another one of his great compositions – “Brickyard Blues.” This is another song that’s been recorded by many groups. “Brickyard Blues” was covered by Maria Muldaur, Levon Helm, B.J. Thomas and Three Dog Night (as “Play Something Sweet”). But my favorite is by the Scottish, white soul singer, Frankie Miller.

Maybe I’m partial to Miller’s version because it came from the album High Life (1974) that was produced by Toussaint and included renditions of seven of his songs. My first exposure to it came from the Warner Brothers “Loss Leader” album, Deep Ear. (Remember? You could send a couple bucks into Warner’s marketing department and they’d send you back a two disc sampler.)

Miller was a musician’s musician. His songs were covered from everyone from Etta James to Johnny Cash. Heck, Ray Charles recorded Miller’s “I Can’t Change It!” Otis Redding’s widow Zelma said of Miller “That little ole white boy has the blackest voice since Otis.”

Unfortunately Miller never had the level of success he deserved. In 1994, as he was planning a comeback with Joe Walsh, he suffered a brain aneurysm in New York. He was in a coma for five months, lost his speech and some ability to move, and racked up huge medical expenses (he was uninsured).

But we can still have his work with Toussaint to enjoy.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Unbroken Chain, Grateful Dead

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Magoos Pizza 1970-81 (GS Troup 19)I’ve got a confession to make… and it’s very difficult to admit now that I live in the San Francisco Bay area. I’m not much of a Grateful Dead fan. There, I said it.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the band. It’s just that I’m far from a “Dead Head.” I love Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. But they’re so accessible that even people that aren’t music buffs like them. I also like some of the later cuts on albums like Wake of the Flood, Blues for Allah and Terrapin Station. And I must admit I get a kick out of the fact that my current home is just a little over a mile from where The Dead (as The Warlocks) played their first gig — Magoo’s Pizza.

But I’ll cement my status as a non Dead Head with my choice for today’s SotW – “Unbroken Chain” from From the Mars Hotel (1974) – which, according to some sources, was the song that was least played live in concert by the group.

Maybe it wasn’t included in the live repertoire because it was written by Phil Lesh and Robert Peterson rather than by the main songwriters – Garcia/Hunter or Weir. Or maybe it was left out until 1995 because it is so musically complex, an attribute that I find attractive. (Blogs report that they did a bad job performing it and dropped it permanently after about 10 attempts.)

So why do I like this cut? Here a few reasons: The opening with a beautiful guitar figure reminiscent of the intro to “Stairway to Heaven.” Phil Lesh’s vocal and Donna Godchaux’s harmony. Ned Lagin’s use of an Arp Odyssey synthesizer to create that eerie sound that sounds like a plane taking off. And, of course, the awesome, jazzy Garcia solo that starts about 3 minutes in.

The philosophical lyrics are interesting too.

I’m not alone in my fondness for this song. The band Animal Collective chose a sample from “Unbroken Chain” (with unprecedented permission from the Grateful Dead) to use in their song “What Would I Want? Sky.”

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Harvard, Diet Cig

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Today’s SotW is by a band from New Paltz, in the Hudson Valley of NY, where I grew up. It is the duo of Alex Luciano (vocals, guitar) and Noah Bowman (drums), gigging under the name Diet Cig.

(I saw many of my earliest rock concerts at SUNY New Paltz including the memorable 1972 Kinks show with a Boston based warm up band I’d never heard of called Aerosmith!)

Earlier this year they released their first proper recording, an EP called Over Easy. The last song on the disc is today’s SotW, “Harvard.”

It’s a pretty funny song… and a nice kiss-off to an Ivy League jerk of an ex-boyfriend who ditched the edgy girl that turns him on for the nice girl he wants to “bring home to mom.”

How’s your new Ivy League girlfriend?
Is she boring too in the way I couldn’t stand?
And I’m not sorry
I just hope you trust her more than me

You never wanted to date a college girl
Well, I hope you got something out of that deal
Or made your parents proud
I bet she’s not as loud

Does it feel better
To be in an Ivy League sweater?
Put your work shoes on
And talk about her at your shitty job
Does it feel better
In that cold Boston weather?

Fuck your Ivy League sweater
You know I was better
Fuck your Ivy League sweater

The music is pretty basic 90s style indie rock. Guitar based, straight ahead rock with heavy drumming. Throw in a little of the Pixies/Nirvana soft/loud dynamics and, viola, the magic begins.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Song for America, Kansas

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Back in college my roommates and I had a routine. After we finished our studies each night we would unwind by listening to a few of our favorite records. We would turn on a black light or light a few candles. We would sit in the darkness and listen intently (and at a very high volume) to a handful of songs that always did the trick for us. In those days, most of what fit the bill was songs by jam bands or prog rock. A few that I can remember were:

Jethro Tull – “Thick as a Brick”
Jefferson Airplane – “Feels So Good” (live from Thirty Seconds over Winterland)
Yes – “And You And I”

The last one I recall is today’s SotW, “Song for America” by Kansas (1975).

“Song for America” was exactly the kind of cut we were looking for – long (almost 10 minutes), progressive rock with several movements, odd time signatures and some top notch, virtuoso playing. This is a well-conceived and executed composition written by Kerry Livgren.

It opens with a long three part intro. The first part has a heavy riff that slows for a synthy transitional part about 2 minutes in. The third section introduces the melody for the first couple of verses sung powerfully by Steve Walsh. The second two verses have a totally different melody. Just after the 5 minute mark the vocals are over and the song moves into the full on prog rock section that includes a nifty violin solo by Rob Steinhardt. When that middle section concludes there’s a return to the main theme for one final vocal verse and then the very Yes-like fade out. Phil Ehart’s drum work is outstanding throughout.

The song’s lyrics play on an ecological theme. Initially it expounds on the virtues of our land’s pristine, natural beauty. By the end it is distraught by the overpopulation and overbuilding that destroyed our paradise.

If all you know about Kansas is “Carry on My Wayward Son” and/or “Dust in the Wind,” you may turn your nose up to today’s SotW selection. That would be a mistake.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Doctor Wu & Chain Lightning, Steely Dan

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As an amateur sax player, I always take notice when great players pass on from this earth. In September we lost two important jazz sax greats – Wilton Felder (September 27th) and Phil Woods (September 4th).

As I thought about their work, it occurred to me that both men played on Steely Dan albums. I couldn’t recall of the top of my head which songs they played on so I did a little research and was reminded that Felder played bass (not sax) on “Chain Lightning” and Woods was on “Doctor Wu” – both from Katy Lied (1975). Now that’s a pretty strange coincidence!

p13032t7y42Felder is most well known as a founding member of The Jazz Crusaders. In that band he was known as a tenor sax player. Check out his work on Carole King’s “So Far Away” from the live album Scratch, where he holds a near one minute long note toward the end. The audience is whooping encouragement at first. As the tension builds, some guy shouts “stop” and there’s some nervous laughter to break it. It’s a marvelous moment caught on tape.

But Felder was also was an “in demand” session bass player on recordings for many popular music artists. He played bass on the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” to mention just a few of the hits. He also played bass on albums by Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell.

weather09240481443647101Woods was known as the “New Bird” in tribute to his influence, Charlie Parker. (He later married Parker’s widow.) The bulk of his career remained close to his bebop roots. He played with many of the greats including Dizzy and Monk.

But he also made some advances into popular music. He can be heard on Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are,” and Paul Simon’s “Have a Good Time.”

Sometimes, like this week, the SotW writes itself!

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Jimmy Olsen’s Blues, Spin Doctors

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Last Sunday Jack Larson, the man that played cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the 50s television show Adventures of Superman, died. I was such a huge fan of the show when I was a kid that this news touched me.

I went to YouTube to see if the shows intro was available to view. It was and I wasn’t even slightly surprised that I could still recite the entire script, word perfect, as I watched it.

So then, what does Jimmy Olsen have to do with the SotW? How about “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues” by Spin Doctors?

Spin Doctors are most well known for their songs “Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” from their 1991 hit album Pocket Full of Kryptonite. But that album also contained “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues.”

JOB is the only “Superman” song I could think of that is from the point of view of Olsen rather than the Man of Steel himself. In this song, Olsen seems to be suffering from depression and jealousy because his partner Lois Lane seems to be more attracted to Clark Kent than him.

Those other “Superman” songs include many different recordings simply called “Superman” by Eminem, The Clique (covered by R.E.M.), Snoop Dog, and Barbra Streisand. Then there’s “Sunshine Superman” by Donovan and “Superman’s Song” by Crash Test Dummies.

Have I forgotten any?

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Stay With Me, Lorraine Ellison

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Where did you go when things went wrong baby?
Who did you run to
And find a shoulder to lay your head upon?
Baby wasn’t I there?
Didn’t I take good care of you?
No no, I can’t believe you’re leaving me
Stay with me baby
Please, stay with me baby
Ooh, stay with me baby
I can’t go on
Who did you touch when you needed tenderness?

So goes the opening section of “Stay With Me” by Lorraine Ellison (1966).

But those words on paper don’t come anywhere close to the emotion that Ellison conveys with her interpretation of the song.

It begins quietly with a simple piano arpeggio, the beat kept with a tap on the high hat. Ellison begins to plead with her man to think about all the kindness and affection she’s given him. Each word is sung with total passion. Then comes the big payoff. The music and her voice swell to an emotion plea to “stay with me baby.”

This may be too bombastic for some of your tastes; to me it is infused with authenticity. Ellison sounds like a woman at the end of her rope – she simply can’t bear to let this man go without a fight. She’s willing to lay it all out, to scratch and claw her way back into his heart, pride be damned.

Some of you may recognize this song from the soundtrack to Bette Midler’s movie The Rose. It was also covered by Janis Joplin. (Although I don’t think she ever did a proper studio recording of “Stay With Me” you can find a live version on YouTube.) That ‘s no surprise when you realize that the tune was co-written by Jerry Ragovoy and George Weiss. Remember, Ragovoy was one of her favorite songwriters, responsible for several other hits in her set list – “Get It While You Can,” “My Baby,” “Piece of My Heart,” and “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” (also recorded by Ellison).

Sadly, Ellison died back in 1983 of ovarian cancer. She was only 51.

One last bit about “Stay With Me.” As the story goes, this cut, produced by Ragovoy, only came about because Frank Sinatra cancelled a recording session that was booked with a full orchestra. It was too late to send the musicians home without pay, so Ragovoy decided to take advantage of the opportunity and call Ellison in to take a shot at recording the song live. That was a good call.

Enjoy… until next week.