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A haunting track by k.d. lang
2009-05-07 21:29:00
worldsgreatestmusicdad writes:This Jane Siberry song from k.d. lang's excellent album 'Songs of the 49th Parallel' is truly amazing - one of those songs you can't hear too often.k.d. lang - Love is Everything (iTunes)
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"Elvis Presley is underrated"
2009-05-07 12:40:00
World's Greatest Music writes...so said Pete Wylie said so on TV last night and watching this, I have to agree:Pete Wylie is definitely underratedElvis Presley - An American Trilogy (live) (Amazon)Pete Wylie - Heart As Big As Liverpool (iTunes)
More About: Underrated , Elvis Presley

Chet Baker again
2009-04-20 18:12:00
worldsgreatestmusicdad writes:BBC 4's screening of 'Lets Gets Lost' provides me with an excuse to post this exquisite Chet track:Chet Baker - Time After Time (Amazon)

one of the best ever bits of reality TV
2009-04-16 02:58:00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZ Y (World's Greatest Music writes)
More About: Reality , Bits

More road songs
2009-04-05 08:38:00
worldsgreatestmusicdad writes:The first road is more of a spiritual one, though it does involve lots of travelling. I can see why some people might find Mike Scott a bit annoying - the details of his journey aren't as interesting to us as they clearly are to him - but this develops into epic song so stick with it.The second Mike Scott track to make my little list will also irritate some listeners being a bit too Celtic. I like the humour of it myself, and the swirling instrumentation. A 'bang on the ear' is apparently the Irish equivalent of a peck on the cheek - wouldn't you just know?Rod McKuen wrote one of the archetypal songs of this kind (all the women in all the places). His own version doesn't seem to be available anywhere. The song was covered by Sinatra (amongst others) but that's not on YouTube either. Fortunately Johnny Cash's is.Dave Loggins' song is a variation on this theme. He travels, but his woman stays put and repeatedly punctures his romantic dre...
More About: Songs , Road

Road Song #3
2009-03-25 12:20:00
worldsgreatestmusicdad writes...O.K., I'm aiming for ten. This Kris Kristofferson song is one that has probably inspired many others. Janis makes it her own and it seems to work just as well with Bobby being a man. Some deceptively simple yet very memorable lines: 'Freedom's just another word for nothin left to lose.' 'I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday/Holdin Bobby's body next to mine.'If you don't have Kristofferson's own version:Kris Kristofferson - Me and Bobby McGee (Amazon)
More About: Song , Road

Road Song #2
2009-03-24 18:44:00
worldsgreatestmusicdad writes:Every time I listen to this song, I notice some other subtlety. The story is a common one in this genre - a couple meet, they travel, she (usually she) leaves, he (usually he) mourns. I think the poignancy here comes from his clear approval of her philosophy even though it led her to move on. Musical and lyrical magic.Richard Thompson - Beeswing (Amazon)
More About: Song , Road

re-post of old thread about Dan Black
2009-03-20 20:17:00
World's Greatest Music writes...this got a takedown notice so I've reposted it without the offending link.Dan Black used to be the singer in The Servant who were big in Italy and France. He also sang vocals for the dance project Planet Funk. Now he has covered Hypnotize by Notorious BIG and it's a lot of fun. Try the excellent Pinglewood blog for more.Dan Black - HYPNTZ (not on iTunes yet)
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Road Songs #1
2009-03-16 17:04:00
worldsgreatestmusicdad writes...The Guardian's '1000 songs everyone must hear' has already reminded me of a few I meant to post and hopefully will now get round to. Road songs is not one of their fairly arbitrarily chosen seven categories - understandably - but there are a good number of these songs and this is surely one of the most memorable, by a neglected artist who has written several outstanding songs.Bob Seger - Roll Me Away (Amazon)
More About: Songs

from Shelby to Dusty to American Music Club to The Carpenters
2009-03-13 13:21:00
World's Greatest Music writes...Your Lies and Leavin' should have been huge hits for Shelby Lynne when she was first signed to Mercury. She was kind of Norah Jones meets Duffy.Shelby's last record was a covers album of songs immortalised by Dusty Springfield, plus one new composition. You can hear tracks on Shelby's rather neglected MySpace site.One Dusty classic Shelby doesn't cover is No Easy Way Down, perhaps because Norah Jones also covered it recently. If you don't own any Dusty albums then get Dusty In Memphis - it's as good as everyone says.American Music Club also covered There Is No Easy Way Down, which gives me an excuse to post my favourite AMC track Johnny Mathis' Feet. In some ways AMC were a pre-cursor to the emo and Americana-tinged sound that is so prevalent in North American alternative music today (Arcade Fire etc).Come to think of it, American Music Club have great taste in covers - they also covered my favourite Carpenters song Goodbye To Love.Shelby Lynn...
More About: The Carpenters

epic indie prog
2009-03-10 13:33:00
World's Greatest Music writes...I rather like this band The Fine Arts Showcase from Malmö, and particularly their epic track Friday On My Knees. It reminds me of something Mark Radcliffe would have played in his Radio 1 days. In fact it reminds me of something specific he did play, Safesurfer, my favourite Julian Cope track. Read the Rolling Stone review of the album that contains Safesurfer.The Fine Arts Showcase - Friday On My Knees (Amazon)Julian Cope - Safesurfer (Amazon)
More About: Indie , Prog , Epic

Kiss Kiss
2009-03-06 13:30:00
World's Greatest Music writes...Excellent American band who fill the gap between System Of A Down and Scouting For Girls, which is quite an achievement I'm sure you'll agree.Kiss Kiss - Satellite (Amazon)

Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley
2009-03-05 13:59:00
World's Greatest Music writes...I started on this thread because The Rockingbirds' eponymous 1992 debut album is being reissued on April 6th with a bonus disc. The Rockingbirds were a country rock band and so several years ahead of their time or twenty years behind it, depending which way you look at it. Restless is a great track and you can pre-order the album from Amazon.The Rockingbirds were produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, arguably the great British production team of the eighties, which gives me an excuse to post a Langer Winstanley greatest hits of sorts. As well as being producers, they wrote the music to Shipbuilding, one of my all-time favourites (Elvis Costello wrote the brilliant lyric).Elvis Costello - Shipbuilding (Amazon)Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding (iTunes)They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul (Amazon)Hothouse Flowers - Don't Go (Amazon)The Rockingbirds - Restless (not on Amazon yet)The King Blues - The Schemers, The Scroungers & The Rats (i...

Larkspur Falls
2009-03-05 13:47:00
World's Greatest Music writes...Larkspur Falls is a new artist being developed by producer David Kosten.I think her song Final Round is a hit.He voice reminds me somewhat of early Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl). I recommend their first album Eden.Larkspur Falls - Final RoundEverything But The Girl - Each And Every One (Amazon)

Asher Roth - I Love College
2009-03-05 13:42:00
World's Greatest Music writes...Very big hit. I don't understand why people compare him to Eminem though. I can't quite think which rapper it is that he reminds me of the most, but he's closer to De La Soul or Skee-Lo than Eminem.I Love College is or originally was based around a sample from Say It Ain't So, an excellent Weezer track that was new to me.Asher Roth - I Love College (Amazon)Skee-Lo - I Wish (Amazon)Weezer - Say It Ain't So (Amazon)

Dance Like A White Boy (remixed by a white man)
2009-03-04 23:30:00
World's Greatest Music writes...World's Greatest Music writes...Master Shortie has the personality to be a big star. Musically and stylistically, there's no-else quite like him. His single Dance Like A White Boy has been remixed by Fast from the Fun Lovin' Criminals under the name Radio Riddler and I like this remix even more than the original.Master Shortie - Dance Like A White Boy (Radio Riddler Remix)
More About: Remixed

Revelry by Kings Of Leon
2009-02-17 01:19:00
World's Greatest Music writes:Isn't this what The Gaslight Anthem are trying to do, done properly?Kings Of Leon - Revelry (Amazon)

Tiffany Page is about to sign a major record deal and should be big in 2010
2009-02-16 14:42:00
Old Friend
More About: Page , Tiffany , Deal , Sign , Record

A songwriter who started young
2009-02-12 16:13:00
worldsgreatestmusicdadwrites:I first heard 'Diana' over and over again on a seaside jukebox in 1957. I still think it is a great rock track and the fact that he was 16 when he wrote and recorded it is still surprising. Only recently, with all the Buddy Holly anniversary hype, did I learn that Anka penned Holly's posthumous hit, 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' - apparently in a matter of minutes. He also provided the English lyrics to 'My Way' which may now have been done to death but is surely a major song by anyone's standards.Paul Anka - Diana (iTunes)Paul Anka - It Doesn't Matter Anymore (iTunes)
More About: Young , Songwriter

Lady Of The Sunshine
2009-02-12 03:12:00
World's Greatest Music writes...I have this CD with no information on it. It's somewhere between a stripped down Kings Of Leon and Fleet Foxes, and it's really good, especially the first five tracks. I googled the title and artist (Smoking Gun by Lady Of The Sunshine ) and it turned up nothing, which added to the intrigue.It turns out it's a solo album by Angus Stone of Angus & Julia fame and it's due out in April. Here's one of those opening five tracks. There are even better ones awaiting you on the album.Lady Of The Sunshine - White Rose Parade (not on Amazon yet)

Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes
2009-02-10 01:07:00
If you can't wait for the official release and you haven't discovered how easy it is to rip from YouTube to mp3 yet, go to www.vidtomp3.com
More About: Shoulders , Knees , Heads

RIP John Martyn
2009-01-30 03:14:00
John Martyn - May You Never (Amazon)
More About: John

Tommy Reilly
2009-01-22 12:59:00
World's Greatest Music writes...I think Tommy Reilly is going to be big and this is his best song.

Human by The Killers
2009-01-21 18:52:00
World's Greatest Music writes:Over the Christmas holidays I decided that this was my favourite track of 2008. Current single Spaceman is very good too.The Killers - Human (Amazon)
More About: The Killers

Get Behind Me Satan And Push
2009-01-21 02:56:00
World's Greatest Music writes...I heard this in a vintage clothes store in Brussels. Brilliant but rather hard to find track. It may be from 1968, or the 70s, but it sounds older than that.Billie Jo Spears - Get Behind Me Satan And Push (not on iTunes or Amazon)

Abandoned Luncheonette
2008-06-10 13:41:00
I've never seen Hall & Oates' second album Abandoned Luncheonette in a "best albums of all time" list, and I used to study these things closely. But I really think it's one of the best albums of all time. I guess despite recent critical reassessment, Hall & Oates are still associated with the bombast and brazen commerciality of their eighties hits (which I also love). This album has none of that - it is impeccably cool and soulful.It's produced by Arif Mardin who I think also produced A Song For You by Donny Hathaway (see below), amongst many other classics. The musicianship is incredible and the songwriting even more so. The first five songs are flawless, including the only one that's really well known, She's Gone, which features on the current Hall & Oates compilation. The album came out in 1973 and it took three years for She's Gone to become a US hit (it reached no. 7 in 1976). It was their first UK hit the same year, although it only reached no. 42 here. Open...

The re-release of 'Let's Get Lost'
2008-06-06 13:42:00
the classic documentary about the legendary Chet Baker prompts me to post a track from the brilliant album 'Chet Baker Sings'. Of course, Chet made his name as a lyrical trumpet player with a very distinctive, and beautiful, tone. But he also had a fine voice. In the latter stages of his career he sang more than he played trumpet, partly because of problems with his teeth - his trumpet-playing never reached its former heights after his teeth were knocked out in a dispute which was almost certainly drug-related. His trumpet playing on the album is just right, perfectly complementing his voice. Many of the tracks have the melancholic flavour of the one I've chosen but the sound is so great that listening is a far from depressing experience. Many other musicians, amongst them Van Morrison and Elvis Costello, recognised Chet's greatness and not that long before his death Chet contributed a perfect little solo on Elvis's version of 'Shipbuilding'.Chet Baker - It's Always You (iT...
More About: Lost , Release

A Song For You
2008-06-06 03:30:00
Two of my favourite tracks are called A Song For You and it turns out there's a link between the two.First, Gram Parsons again. For me, his four classic compositions are Hot Burrito #1 (AKA I'm Your Toy - see below), Hickory Wind, Return Of The Grievous Angel and A Song For You. Then there's Wild Horses which is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards but Gram is rumoured to have co-written. There was more than one controvery over credits in Gram's short career as this article about Hickory Wind suggests.The essential Gram Parsons purchases are the Flying Burrito Brothers album Gilded Palace Of Sin, the two Gram Parsons solo albums (on which Emmylou Harris deserved a credit), and the Byrds album Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.Robert Sandall's interview with Emmylou Harris says "The last time they spoke, Parsons phoned (Emmylou) to tell her that her favourite track from their recent sessions had been left off the Grievous Angel album but would definitely feature on the next". What w...

Talking of Gram Parsons.......
2008-06-04 22:19:00
I first heard of him when I bought and was absolutely bowled over by Elvis Costello's album 'Almost Blue'. Elvis recorded it in Nashville, I think, with some local musicians added to the Attractions. Every track on the album was a country cover and the LP cover carried a sticker which famously said: "WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause offence to narrow minded listeners." The most memorable track, for me, was Gram 's immortal 'Hot Burrito #1' (sensibly renamed 'I'm Your Toy' - never was a sublime song more ridiculously titled). When I finally caught up with Gram's own version with, of course, the Flying Burrito Brothers, I had to accept that the original was better, if only for the heartbreaking cracking of his voice at crucial stages, but Elvis gives him a run for his money. More of Gram perhaps when my son posts his own take on this seminal artist - and more of Emmylou when the new album is finally released. It's been delayed but I've ...
More About: Talking , Parsons , Gram Parsons

Emmylou Harris was just interviewed in the Times
2008-06-04 12:38:00
The piece mostly focuses on how attractive she is for a 61 year old, and Gram Parsons.Still, at least this gives me a chance to post Boulder To Birmingham, one of my all-time favourites and surely one of the saddest songs of all-time (if you've read the Times article you will be able to hazard a guess at what the lyrics are about).My dad introduced me to Boulder To Birmingham and he's going to see Emmylou live on her current tour. He also has her new album so will hopefully post something from that, if it's great.Boulder To Birmingham was written by Emmylou and Bill Danoff. Bill's other credits include Take Me Home Country Roads, a smash for John Denver and Hermes House Party (I will resist the temptation to include a Hermes House Party track on the same thread as Boulder To Birmingham, but I must do a John Denver post and a Gram Parsons post before long).Emmylou Harris - Boulder To Birmingham (iTunes)
More About: The Times