..It was also the day before my twenty-ninth birthday. I wasn’t just drunk by the time of the concert – I was smashed. Fortunately, it went off OK.
~Pete Townshend (from “Who I Am”)
“Buffett I guess. Lightfoot. Warren Zevon. Randy. John Prine. Guy Clark. Those kinds of writers.”
– Bob Dylan (on the question about favorite songwriters asked by Bill Flanagan in 2009)I have no reason to sit home and write songs all day without going out and playing for the folks. And I have no reason to go play for the folks unless I’m writing new songs so they can sort of feed off one another. And I just try to do the best I can.
~Guy ClarkGuy Clark doesn’t just write songs, he crafts them with the kind of hands-on care and respect that a master carpenter (a favorite image of his) would have when faced with a stack of rare hardwood.
~Kurt Wolff (allmusic.com)–
Guy Clark, the Texas troubadour who blended high wit with pure poetry and turned it into timeless, vibrantly visual songs like “Desperados Waiting for a Train” and “L.A Freeway,” died today at the age of 74.
–rollingstone.com
–
Desperados Waiting For A Train (FANTASTIC version from the legendary “Heartworn Highways” DVD):
But the paradox is that while Sky Blue Sky is the smoothest sounding Wilco album, it also takes the longest to absorb and understand.
~Michael Metivier (popmatters.com)..Wilco’s sixth studio album, Sky Blue Sky, sounds like the long-awaited follow-up to 1996’s Being There — while it lacks the ramshackle shape-shifting and broad twang of that earlier album, Sky Blue Sky represents a shift back to an organic sound and approach that suggests the influence of Neil Young’s Harvest and the more polished avenues of ’70s soft rock. Sky Blue Sky also marks Wilco’s first studio recordings since Nels Cline and Pat Sansone joined the group, and they certainly make their presence felt …
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)
Impossible Germany (Live – from the DVD “Ashes Of American Flags”):
Continue reading “May 15: Wilco released Sky Blue Sky in 2007”
The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn’t know how other people would take it.
~B. B. KingI never use that word, retire.
~B. B. KingUniversally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His bent notes and staccato picking style have influenced legions of contemporary bluesmen, while his gritty and confident voice — capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric — provides a worthy match for his passionate playing.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)
On May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes, King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. King died on May 14 at home.
The Thrill Is Gone (Live at Montreux 1993):
Continue reading “Blues legend B.B. King died one year ago today – May 14, 2015 – Rest in Peace”
A fabulous 2006 Seeger Sessions Show. The one I’ve watched the most from this tour.
| Bruce Springsteen – The Seeger Sessions Live, a video recording of a May 9, 2006 performance in London’s St Luke Old Street church, was filmed by the BBC and also broadcast in the U.S. by PBS. (wikipedia) |
| Recorded at St. Luke’s in London’s East End, Bruce Springsteen performs an intimate concert of songs selected from his new album, WE SHALL OVERCOME: THE SEEGER SESSIONS, a collection of standards and spirituals popularized by the legendary Pete Seeger. Springsteen’s UK concert performances have thrilled the critics, with THE INDEPENDENT raving, “an astonishingly rich evening … his music has rarely sounded more spontaneous or vitalizing than this,” and THE OBSERVER adding, “Springsteen and the Seeger Session band were an inspiring triumph.” Among the songs featured are “John Henry,” “O Mary Don’t You Weep,” “Pay Me My Money Down,” and “We Shall Overcome.” (pbs.org) |
Setlist:
| Broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and televised (in part) on BBC4 and in high definition on BBC HD. Concert held in the 18th century St. Luke Old Street church, now a music centre operated by the London Symphony Orchestra. Two runthroughs of “O Mary Don’t You Weep” and “Mrs. McGrath”, while “Jacob’s Ladder” requires a restart after an amusing Bruce mistake. Available on several DVD presentations and on CD “The Church Sessions” (Godfather). (brucebase.wikispace.com) |
-Egil
Alan Price, from The Animals (top left) was born in 1942.
Wikipedia:
Alan Price (born 19 April 1942, Fatfield, Washington, County Durham) is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals and for his subsequent solo work.
Price is a self-taught musician and was educated at Jarrow Grammar School, South Tyneside and was a founding member of the Tyneside group The Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, which was later renamed The Animals. His organ-playing on songs by The Animals, such as “House of the Rising Sun”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “Bring It On Home To Me” was a key element in the success of the group.
After leaving the Animals, Price went on to have success on his own and with Georgie Fame. He introduced the songs of Randy Newman to a wider audience. Later he appeared on his own television show , as well as achieving success with film scores winning including critical acclaim for his musical contribution to the 1973 fim O Lucky Man! and wrote the score to the stage musical Andy Capp. In addition he has appeared in the acting credits for films and television productions.
Animals, Please don’t let me be misunderstood:
Continue reading “April 19: Alan Price was born in 1942”