I have only recently come to appreciate what a great song this Jackson Browne number from 1976 is. After the 'sixties faded, I gave myself an education in classical and jazz and lost touch with the rock scene. The video presents the thoughtful lyrics. The Gary U. S. Bonds cover from 1981 is also unbelievably good.
The Weight. Robertson sat down one day to write a song and peering into his Martin guitar read, "Martin Guitars, Nazareth, Pennslylvania." This inspired the line, "I pulled into Nazareth, feelin' about half-past dead."
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Nothing hippy-trippy or psychedelic about these '60s musicians. Pure Americana served up by Canadians. Rooted, autochthonic.
I Shall Be Released. Their synergy benefited both the Bard and the Band. They helped him move farther from the mind and closer to the earth.
I post what I like, and I like what I post. It's a nostalgia trip, and a generational thing. There's no point in disputing taste or sensibility, or much of anything else. It's Saturday night, punch the clock, pour yourself a stiff one, stop thinking, and FEEL!
Traveling Wilburys, End of Line, Extended Version
Who, Won't Get Fooled Again. Lyrics!
Gary U. S. Bonds, From a Buick Six. Sorry, Bob, but not even you can touch this version.
Bob Dylan, It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry. Cutting Edge Bootleg version.
Bob Dylan, Just Like a Woman. This Cutting Edge take may be the best version, even with the mistakes.
Bob Dylan, Cold Irons Bound. The Bard never loses his touch. May he die with his boots on.
Bob Dylan, Corrina, Corrina. And you say he can't sing in a conventional way?
Bob Seger, Old-Time Rock and Roll
But does it really "soothe the soul"? Is it supposed to? For soul-soothing, I recommend the Adagio movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Adagio molto e cantabile.
The Flying Burrito Brothers, To Ramona. A beautiful cover of a song from Dylan's fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan.
YouTuber comment: "I'd hate to think where we would be without Mr. Zimmerman's songwriting. So many covers done by so many great artists." And I say that if it weren't for Zimmi, the Great American Boomer Soundtrack would have a huge, gaping hole in it.
An able cover of the Bobby Edwards cross-over hit from 1961.
The Springfields, Silver Threads and Golden Needles
Dusty Springfield before she was Dusty Springfield.
Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Roving Gambler. "Ramblin' Charles Adnopoz" lacking the requisite resonance for a follower of Woody Guthrie, this Jewish son of a New York M.D. wisely changed his name.
Joan Baez, Rock Salt and Nails
The best rendition of the Utah Philips song..
On the banks of the river where the willows hang down
And the wild birds all warble with a low moaning sound
Down in the hollow where the waters run cold
It was there I first listened to the lies that you told
Now I lie on my bed and I see your sweet face
The past I remember time cannot erase
The letter you wrote me it was written in shame
And I know that your conscience still echos my name
Now the nights are so long, Lord sorrow runs deep
And nothing is worse than a night without sleep
I’ll walk out alone and look at the sky
Too empty to sing, too lonesome to cry
If the ladies was blackbirds and the ladies was thrushes
I’d lie there for hours in the chilly cold marshes
If the ladies was squirrel’s with high bushy tails
I’d fill up my shotgun with rock salt and nails
Patsy Cline, She's Got You
Marianne Faithfull, Ruby Tuesday. Moodier than the Stones' original. She does a great version of Dylan's Visions of Johanna. But nothing touches the original. It moves me as much as it did back in '66. YouTuber comment: "An early morning cup of coffee, smoking a fattie, listening to this insane genius . . . does it get any better? And if so, how?"
Tom Waits, The Ghosts of Saturday Night. One of the best by this latter-day quasi-Kerouac.
Marlene Dietrich, Die Fesche Lola. 'Fesche' means something like smart, snazzy.
Ich bin die fesche Lola, der Liebling der Saison!
Ich hab' ein Pianola zu Haus' in mein' Salon
Ich bin die fesche Lola, mich liebt ein jeder Mann
doch an mein Pianola, da laß ich keinen ran!
Kinks, Lola. From the days when 'tranny' meant transmission.
Marlene Dietrich, Muss I Denn
Elvis Presley, Wooden Heart
Lotte Lenya, September Song
Lotte Lenya, Moon of Alabama
Doors, Alabama Song
Bette Midler, Mambo Italiano. Video of Sophia Loren.
Thanks for serving these up so nicely, Mr. Bill.
We appreciate the breadth and the depth of your pickings...I'm not overly sentimental, but these sounds represent for so many of us, a time of simplicity that we'll never see again--not so much because time simply marches on, but because we as a country have turned some corners we shouldn't have.
I have to let my love of those old tunes kindle some hope for our posterity.
So again, thanks!
Posted by: Joel Farmer | Sunday, June 02, 2024 at 10:59 PM
You are very welcome, Joel. I agree with the spirit and the letter of your comment. If nothing else, these old tunes allow a temporary escape from the horrors of the present.
We've made too many Left turns . . .
Posted by: BV | Monday, June 03, 2024 at 03:12 AM