Tune of the Day

"As If We Would Never Love Again" on Jim Lauderdale’s Onward Through It All album. A great, great song (chord progressions, melody) from a "perfect" album (not a single bad song. Jim is a master songwriter, his songs having been recorded and made hits by a LOT of other singers. Look him up!), played by some of the best musicians in the world (none of whom you’ve heard of ;-) as a shuffle with a subtle swing feel, complete with walking bass, a favorite of mine.

I dig how the drummer switches from playing cross-stick on the snare drum on the first verse, to the tip of the stick on the drumhead on the second verse. Taste and class! Superb pedal steel playing, lead guitar parts and tone to die for (in the mold of James Burton), acoustic piano played honky-tonk style, nice harmony parts to compliment Jim’s great singing of the melody. What’s not to love? For those of you raised on Rock but now drawn to some Americana or Alt-Country artists or bands, this is how the music is played by men, rather than boys ;-) . 

Sure do, @slaw. New West Records had a great sale back in November, and I picked up the Hiatt LP as well as the new ones by Rodney Crowell and Richard Thompson for $13.99 each, plus the Court Yard Hounds (the two sisters from The Dixie Chicks) LP for $7.98 and the Crazy Heart soundtrack on LP for $9.98. And three John Hiatt albums on CD for $3.99 each!

New West has a really fine roster of artists; in addition to the above, it includes the great Buddy Miller, Steve Earle (as well as his son, Justin Townes), J.D. McPherson, The Secret Sisters (produced by T Bone Burnett), and Lilly Hiatt (Johns daughter, I presume ;-).

While listening to the Jim Lauderdale track, you should hopefully become aware of the feeling that the players are "holding back". It’s a hard thing to describe and quantify, but it’s what separates the men from the boys in the area of musicianship.

By playing just a little "late", a hair "behind" the middle of the "pocket", a great deal of musical tension is created, a feeling of anticipation. When that tension is finally released, it’s SO satisfying! That tension-and-release is very sexual, if I may be slightly vulgar. The tension is also maintained by the musicians refraining from playing any superfluous notes. As the old Jazz guys always said, the notes you don’t play are as important as those you do. For you Rockers, think of "I Can See For Miles" by The Who, and "Skakin’ All Over" by The Guess Who (The Who’s version on Live At Leeds is all about release, missing the tension created by The Guess Who. Compare the two versions!).

This style of playing is referred to by some as laid-back (often said somewhat pejoratively by those who don’t understand or appreciate it), and is for some reason a specialty of southern U.S.A. musicians. That is why Dylan started recording in Nashville in 1965, and why Jerry Wexler took Aretha, Dusty, Wilson Pickett, and other Atlantic Records singers down to Muscle Shoals in 1968-9. Wilson said he walked into the studio and saw these white crackers sitting around, and thought to himself, "Jerry, what have you got me into?" He says then the band (known as The Swampers) started playing, and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing---the funkiest band he had ever heard! The drummer, Roger Hawkins, is a favorite of mine (and of Jim Keltner, who says he wishes he played more like Roger) who was enticed out of the studio by Steve Winwood for a stint in Traffic. As good a musical drummer as I have ever heard.

Jim Lauderdale has that kind of taste in musicians.

Something I neglected to mention about Jim Lauderdale, something that might break down any resistance some have to listening to someone as Country as Jim (I realize a fair number of Rockers have an aversion to the genre):

When I saw Lucinda Williams on her Car Wheels tour, Jim served as her bandleader/harmony singer/acoustic guitarist. He stood beside her on stage, playing his acoustic, singing harmony, providing what appeared to be moral support (she’s not the most confident of live performers), and leading the band (which included the great drummer Jim Christie, who quit Dwight Yoakam’s band to join hers).

Jim hosts the annual Americana Music Awards Show, and lately has been involved with another favorite music maker of mine, Buddy Miller. I’m tellin’ ya, the guy is ridiculously talented.

"After You’re Gone" by Mary Gauthier, on her Filth & Fire album. A new classic, imo. It’s an unfortunate myth that being a good musician automatically makes for a good songwriter. Damn those Beatles ;-) .

Dig how Mary goes to the "different" chord only at the end of what you think will be the final line of the last verse (as she sings "gone"); she instead then repeats the chord progression leading up to that chord, but then DOESN’T go to it this time, but to the one in the earlier verses (in songwriting that's known as a "turnaround"). THAT’S masterful songwriting; playing an instrument well has NOTHING to do with songwriting. Keith Emerson was a much better pianist than is Brian Wilson; who wrote "better" songs? If you say Emerson, we’re done ;-) .

I hear a lot of music "written" by musicians who obviously don’t have the knowledge of music itself required to do it well enough for me to find it musically satisfying. It is considered common wisdom that The Beatles revolutionized Pop music. I don’t disagree, but was it all to the good? Prior to them, only the best songwriters were professionals, and only the best musicians were on records. You had all the Brill Building songwriting pros composing songs still considered classics, songs still recorded anew. You had The Swampers (the house band at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals), The Wrecking Crew (Hal Blaine, Carol King, etc., heard on SO much of the music recorded in L.A. in the 60’s), and The Funk Brothers (the Motown house band, whose members included the great James Jamerson on bass), plus Booker T & The MG’s backing Otis Redding, one of the greatest singers.

Yes, The Beatles changed all that. After them, every band and group was expected to write their own songs. NOTHING they had done as teenagers (learning how to play guitar, bass, piano, drums, whatever) prepared them for doing so. That The Beatles were as good a group (as opposed to band) as they were, AND as good of songwriters, was a once-in-a-lifetime fluke!

@slaw, my main attraction to Mary Gauthier is in her honesty, vulnerability, and all-around pathos. I mentioned the turnaround (also called tag ending) she employed in "After You’re Gone" just as evidence of her also having a good understanding of classic Pop song construction and songwriting technique (to create and achieve a desired emotional response in the listener). Brian Wilson she is not (he’s about the most sophisticated in those terms of all the Rock ’n’ Roll songwriters), but then he doesn’t have her abilities either (lyrically, of course, but also as a singer).

I’m a much bigger fan of Lennon & McCartney together than either alone. They really were an excellent team, and the music of each imo greatly benefitted from the influence of the other. That’s one reason I liked them less and less in their final couple of years, after they had stopped writing together (post-Rubber Soul). But I really like the first couple McCartney solo albums, and none of Lennon’s. They also became less and less a good band, as a performing combo. They were a young Rock ’n’ Roll band (my God, George Harrison was 20 years old at the time of Meet The Beatles!) who became a Pop group. By the time of their last few years, I had moved on (I liked other writers more, and other bands---as a group of musicians---as well). I have no use for Magical Mystery Tour (true, not a real album. I have the UK double 7" EP version), Get Back/Hey Jude is just awful, and though going out on Abbey Road was an improvement, for some reason I just don’t like it. Most others seem to like it, so it’s not them (The Beatles), it’s me!

"One Hit Wonders Of The World Unite" by Badger. A "chimey" solo electric guitar opening is then joined with a guitar blasting a power chord, pounding drums, and a throbbing electric bass part. The opening leads to the first verse, a wonderful melody winding it’s way through an unusually good chord progression. A second verse follows, after which the song goes to a bridge (almost unheard these days in Pop and Rock music, but common in The Beatles’ songs), and then.....the bridge explodes into a glorious, thrilling chorus, complete with hair raising 3-part harmony!

If you love Power Pop by the likes of Big Star, Cheap Trick, Marshall Crenshaw, Emitt Rhodes, Matthew Sweet, Dwight Twilley, The Flamin' Groovies, The Rasberries, The Rubinoos, Shoes, etc., you have GOT to hear this song! Hard to find (I have it on a compilation given to performers at the 1997 Poptopia Festival in Los Angeles (I was a member of Emitt Rhodes’ band), but you can hear it on YouTube.

"I Wouldn’t Be Me Without You" by Rodney Crowell, just one great song off his excellent Tarpaper Sky album. The song (written by Rodney), his singing of it, the musical accompaniment by some of the best musicians in the world (Steuart Smith on guitar, Will Kimbrough on acoustic guitar and accordion, Eddie Bayers on drums, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Jim Horn on sax), the great harmony singing by Shannon McNally, Chely Wright, Vince Gill, and Ronnie McCoury.

Fellers, it just don’t get no better’n this. Mastered specifically for vinyl LP by New West Records, the current best music label in the world.

Once in a great while I hear a song so special I just keep coming back to it, sometimes listening to it multiple times in a row. "West" by Lucinda Williams is one such song. It closes the album of the same title, and is the most hauntingly beautiful song I’ve heard in a long, long time.

The whole album is very strong, one of my favorites of hers, and was produced by Hal Willner. Musical accompaniment is provided by the likes of Bill Frisell, Doug Pettibone, Tony Garnier, and Jim Keltner (I knew it was Jim playing drums before I read the album credits; his style is that unique and identifiable), musicians as good as they come. Gary Louris of The Jayhawks provides vocal harmonies.

In the liner notes, Lucinda mentions that all the songs on the album were written at The Safari Inn in Burbank. I had to laugh; that’s a 2-level motel right on Olive Avenue, just down the street from NBC Studios (where The Tonight Show is taped) and a quarter mile from where I lived from ’93-’03. I used to drive by The Safari Inn all the time, but as the West album came out in 2007, in all likelihood she was holed-up there writing songs after I had moved up into the foothills above Glendale.

As I was just again listening to "West", its’ hearing brought to mind another song, one I have loved from the first time I heard it at the time of it’s use in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s: "Moon River", written, orchestrated, and conducted by Henry Mancini, sung by Andy Williams. So I put it on, and, just as when I listen to ’West", was brought to tears.

There is a video on You Tube of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck doing a nice version of the song live. As good as it is, I can’t help but long for a version by Ry Cooder.

"There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight" (written by Hank Williams), sung as a duet between Buddy Miller and Doug Seegers’ on the latter’s Going Down To The River album. Doug also duets with Emmylou Harris on "She" (written by Chris Ethridge and Emmylou’s old boyfriend Gram Parsons, when the two were in The Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman).

Warning! This is gen-u-ine Country & Western music, not for those adverse to the real thing. Honky Tonk piano, fiddles, steel guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar, etc. Rural Hillbilly music, sung by crusty old guys who sound like they have lived the songs. Have I already mentioned the album? I listen to it a lot.

Great song @slaw. And the piano playing is absolutely thrilling!

Paul Simon used to be a mighty fine songwriter (though a pretty poor singer), but not in quite awhile imo. I understand I may be in the minority in this regard, but I don't consider what he did on the Graceland album to be "true" songwriting, and his singing didn't come close to matching that of the South Africans.

There are artists who have taken the music of a different (non-U.S.A.) culture and done something really interesting with it, such as Ry Cooder. Paul Simon is no Ry Cooder. And then there are artists who have brought the music of their culture to we white Americans, Los Lobos being a particular favorite of mine.

Nothing makes me as cognizant of how different as a culture from Europe are "we" as when I listen to pre-20th Century Classical music, especially that of the Baroque period. But then "we" created Blues, Jazz, and Rock 'n' Roll!

"Keep Your Distance", both versions. With Buddy & Julie Miller’s version you get their wonderful 2-part harmony duet throughout the song. With Richard Thompson’s original, his distinctive vocals and guitar playing (on his solo, he makes his Strat sound like a steel guitar), and the fantastic bass playing of one of the all-time greats, Jerry Scheff (Elvis, T Bone Burnett, LOTS of studio work).

On this song, Jerry uses the technique of inversion, one of my favorite things in music, "pedaling" (staying on one note) as the other players move through the song’s chord changes. That is possible only when the note being played is contained within the other chords that come around. Rather than remaining the Tonic of the chord (the root note), the note becomes one of the other notes in the following chord(s), a say 3rd or 5th above the Tonic.

Musicians who play in such a fashion as to sound "impressive" (chops, technique) don’t think in this kind of "musical" way. It’s not technically difficult to play inversions, it just sounds really cool. And even if the listener doesn’t realize what the bassist is doing, playing inversions creates a musical tension that, when finally released (the bassist must play a different note when a chord not containing the note he is pedaling on comes along), is very "satisfying" (the ol’ tension-and-release). Just another example of how the best musicians approach the creating of music.

By the way, J.S. Bach’s music is chock full of inversions. He is, infact, the Master at it’s use.

"Across The Borderline" by Gaby Moreno and Van Dyke Parks (with Jackson Browne). You may be familiar with the version by Linda Ronstadt or Ry Cooder, but this version is very different. Gaby’s vocal is great, but it is Van Dyke’s reimagining of the song that makes this version so special.

Van Dyke Parks was Brian Wilson’s collaborator on the ill-fated Smile album, and is a genius (or at least as close to one as our times has produced). He is a master orchestrator, fully in evidence on this song. I have to get their album. If you haven't yet heard Van's debut album Song Cycle, you should!

"Desperados" is a great song, @slaw, written by Guy Clark. One band I was in performed it regularly.

My song of the day is "Go West", a really "fun" song on Geraint Watkins 2004 album on Yep Rock, Dial W For Watkins. Bob Dylan: "Geraint Watkins is my favorite English pianist". Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe apparently agree, as they have both had him in their bands. He was also in Pearl Harbor's road band in the 1980's (she was on Columbia in the U.S., Stiff Records in the UK, and toured with Nick Lowe, Costello, and The Clash over there. She was for awhile married to Clash bassist Paul Simonon). When I told Pearl (I was a member of her band in 2002-03. She's a real sweetheart.) I thought it very hip of her to have Geraint in her band, she was surprised I knew of him. Hey babe, you're not dealing with a "normal" musician here. ;-)

Before I looked at the song's credits, I thought "Go West" might be a song from one of those Bob Hope/Bing Crosby buddy movies. It's a real hoot, a song I guarantee you've never heard anything like. I love it! The album is still available from Yep Rock on CD for about ten bucks. Money well spent.

"Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends" by the divine miss Joan Osborne, one of my favorite living singers. On her excellent Pretty Little Stranger album, the song is a classic Country tune in the style heard in the 50's and 60's by the likes of Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn. Harmony vocal by Dan Tyminski of Alison Krauss' great band Union Station. Dan has a couple of solo albums of his own.

Following "DTMHTSE" on the album is another great Country tune, "Time Won't Tell". These two songs would never be heard on "Country" radio, as they are real Country, not Pop/Rock Country-lite. If you like them, check out the great pure Country/Bluegrass singer (Joan's a multi-genre singer) Patty Loveless. 

I could nominate any number of songs on the album to which I am currently listening, Buddy Miller’s Your Love And Other Lies. At the moment "Watching Amy Dance" is playing, so I’ll go with it. Fanf*ckingtastic! A great song, superior musicianship and singing, good recorded sound quality.

A few tracks later is a duet between Buddy and his wife/collaborator Julie, "You’re Running Wild". Buddy and Gurf Morlix on guitars, Al Perkins on steel, Tammy Rogers on mandolin, Don Heffington (Lone Justice) drumming.

Music this good (and dogs ;-) makes living in this miserable world tolerable. To me this is not, as I have here read some say, a hobby, but rather a life raft.

"I’m Gonna Be Strong" by Buddy Miller, on his Cruel Moon album. "IGBS" was written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (fantastic Brill Building writers, with hundreds of recorded songs), originally recorded by Gene Pitney (Cyndi Lauper has also recorded the song). Superb harmony vocal by Joy Lynn White (listen to Buddy & Joy’s harmony on the final refrain---better than anything John & Paul ever sang. Absolutely thrilling!).

Two tracks later is the album’s title track, "Cruel Moon", written by Julie Miller. Cool twangy guitar playing by Buddy, pedal steel by Steve Fishell, mandolin by Tammy Rogers, and drums by a guy I palled around with in L.A., John Gardner (rat bastard ;-). Last but not least, the incomparable Emmylou Harris on harmony vocals.

The whole album is very strong, I'm just pointing out a coupla songs. In a better world, "I'm Too Used To Lovin' You" would have been a big fat giant hit. Buddy also sings Steve Earle's fantastic song "I'm not Getting Any Better At Goodbye". He's one of the best singers in the world, and I'll bet few of you even know about him. Buddy serves as his own recording engineer, having turned the living room of his Nashville home into a studio. When Julie isn't feeling well, he runs a long mic cord up the stairs into their bedroom, recording her vocal in bed. ;-)

"Watching The River Flow". I was knocked out by the song when I first heard it, in 1971. I just watched an interview with the drummer on the song, Jim Keltner. He said the rhythm section on the song---Leon Russell on piano (who produced the session), Carl Radle (from Derek & The Dominoes) on bass, and Jesse Ed Davis (from Taj Mahal’s band) on guitar---was the best he was ever a part of.

Jim said Dylan wrote the lyrics to the song at the session, in a few minutes. He also said Dylan was one of the two best rhythm guitar players he ever worked with, Lennon being the other. But then, Jim never recorded with The Everly Brothers or Dave Edmunds. ;-)

The song sounds as great today as it did in ’71. Timeless.

For those of you discovering Emitt’s debut, here’s another you gotta hear: Sincerely by The Dwight Twilley Band. Another Power Pop masterpiece by a remarkable trio: Dwight on songwriting, piano, rhythm guitar, and vocals, Phil Seymour on drums and vocals, and the extraordinary guitar playing of Bill Pitcock IV. It’s follow up Twilley Don’t Mind is mighty fine too. After that album Seymour left for a solo career. In the early Twilley Band videos you will see Tom Petty playing a Rickenbacker bass.

More recently there was an unusually good group you may be familiar with: Jellyfish. If not, they made two fantastic Power Pop albums, then splitsville.

And for those with a taste for Merseybeat, you just gotta hear Shake Some Action by The Flamin’ Groovies, produced by the great Dave Edmunds. Not a hi-fi demo record, it is intentionally made to sound "old". Very dark, thick, and fat. Works great for the music.

Julie Miller with Buddy Miller: "When You Go Down". From Buddy and Julie's Lockdown Album, digital streaming only, but I heard the song on YouTube. The object of Julie's ire will become apparent when you watch the video.

@slaw: Good to see you giving The Rubinoos their due. Do you also have their Back To The Drawing Board album? It contains a fantastic song entitled "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", very high energy Power Pop (with a great guitar solo by Tommy Dunbar). It shoulda been a hit single! They are also a great live band (I saw them in both the 80’s and 90’s).