Tam Lin

So last week was country music. This week is British Folk Rock, especially as sung by women

This is one of my all time favorite songs, and my absolute favorite version of it. This is the song that hooked me on Sandy Denny.

The song itself is a major example of the dark, wild side of Faerie that Tolkien wrote about. Aside from "Thomas the Rhymer" and Keats' "La Belle Dame sans Merci", there is scarcely a better work on the dangers mortals find in meddling in Faerie.

Great Gate of Kiev

Again, classical music should make your ears bleed.

Seriously, listen to these nice fat chords. It's all brass. How could a trombone player not love that?

This performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner.

El Paso

I'm in a country mood this week I guess.

We play both kinds, Country and Western.

This is the best Western ballad ever written, not a lot more can be said.



Not many songs generate sequels, and most sequels aren't very good. This generated two. The first "Feleena" tells the story from Feleena's point of view.



The second "El Paso City" is different. It is set in the present. The narrator, while flying over El Paso, tells of hearing the song and the deep connection he feels to it, suggesting that he was the cowboy in the song in a past life.

The only copy I found is a live version with some serious audio problems, sadly.

Take This Job and Shove It.

Note, nothing has happened at work recently that makes my attitude towards my job more negative.

Everyone knows this song, or at least the title line. "Take this job and shove it, I ain't working here no more." Everyone had wanted to say this. Few of us ever do, including the narrator of this song. That's what makes this song so brilliant and tragic. The chorus sounds like a glorious barbaric yawlp, but the verses destroy that illusion. Like many of us, the narrator is leading his life of quiet desperation. You can't do this sort of stuff with Rock or Pop.

This song was originally by David Allen Coe, but was most famously covered by Johnny Paycheck. The Dead Kennedys did a version as well.

On the Road Again

For my Simon and Garfunkel post I almost used "Homeward Bound", a song I really like. But at the last moment I realized that it was a whiny "life's rough on the road" song, and I wasn't in the mood. It seems that every band and singer sooner or later writes a song about how tough life on the road is. I don't doubt them, I wouldn't won't to do it, but it doesn't really connect with the rest of us who live lives tethered to one location. And then there is Willie Nelson. He looks at the life of the traveling musician and says "Oh Boy!"

I am also reminded by a story I heard recently. One of my co-workers is a rather interesting 19 year old girl who is big into the "underground" music scene. She promotes a lot of concerts and bands, and has been for several years, despite her youth. Let's call her Music Girl. Well music girl has some friends in a band that were given the opportunity to do a mini-tour opening for Willie. They, of course, jumped at the opportunity. Willie even invite them to ditch the van and ride his tour bus. How cool is that? Well... It turns out that Willie has two states of being; sleeping and playing his guitar. He doesn't sleep much. After ten hours on the bus listening to Willie doodle in the corner, they were ready to scream. And they only had ten days left.

When Willie sings this song, he evidently means it, and really doesn't undersand how anyone could feel any other way.

For Emily Whenever I Find Her

What did Art bring to Simona and Garfunkel? The obvious answer is that voice. Paul was the songwriter, and in the long run that was the more marketable talent. But despite his genius, Paul's voice is pedestrian. Art's voice can soar in way that is seldom heard in pop music.

This is a song that sneaks up on you, it is almost background music at the beginning, but by the end you are can't help but pay attention. It's not one of the most widely known songs by S & G, but it is one of my favorites.

Sweet Child O Mine

I once had an argument with my younger brother about this song. He maintained that, because the guitar work in the song was not technically difficult, that it meant that the guitarist was really not that good. That may be so, but the opening guitar, despite its simplicity is quite simply one of the most effective opening riffs ever. Great song.