"Group Hug 1.0" : THE WEEKEND MIX (PT. 1)

Be careful what you wish for.

Of course, I wake up and the chumps over at Blogger decide to give an unexpected makeover to the dashboard on a very big posting day, leaving me in more than a bit of a tizzy. Sorry for the formatting. 

This was more work than I expected, but man it was great fun. I had hoped for just enough submissions for a Weekend Mix, but instead found enough songs in my in-box for almost THREE! (Though, I admit to being a little surprised and disappointed not finding songs from some of Burning Wood's "most loyal" readers. Party poopers.)

There was exactly one song submitted by a woman. Do with that fact what you will.

Some readers sent 2 or 3 songs. Some sent WMA files, which I would need to convert. I'm liking just about everything, so this will be a two-parter, with "Group Hug 1.1" appearing tomorrow.

There's no real theme, though I did sequence the tracks on both today's and tomorrow's offerings to what sounded like...something.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

TRACKLIST

Nowhere With You- Joel Plaskett Emergency
Don't It Make You Feel Good- The Overlanders
Apple Scruffs- George Harrison
The Mighty Quinn (Frankenstein Edit)- Manfred Mann
Got To Get Out- Nick Gilder
Yellow Sunglasses- The Klowns
Royal Oakie- Louie & The Lovers
Jim Cain- Bill Callahan
2:10 Train- Rising Sons
Anything- Just Desserts
Trip Around The Sun- Al Anderson
Dandelion River Run- Mimi & Richard Farina
Ordinary Fool- Hacienda Brothers
You're Supposed To Be Feeling Good- Emmylou Harris
Peter Pan- Jim Boggia
Connection- Montrose
No Matter What- Pete Ham
Burning Love (Live)- Dennis Linds

THE ZIP

THE BLURBS




NOWHERE WITH YOU- JOEL PLASKETT
(James M.)

Joel is a jewel in Canada's east coast music scene crown, 

an indie darling (this song is the most streamed song 

in the history of CBC Radio 3 -- the Internet 

only branch of the national broadcaster), an emerging national star 

and about the best live performer I've ever seen. 

Solo, as producer, or with the band, Joel sounds like everybody 

and simultaneously sounds unique. Over seven albums 

there are a million songs to choose from -- this song is one 

of the most fun and a great introduction.

DON'T IT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD- THE OVERLANDERS
(James G.)

This is the insanely catchy version of "Don't It Make You Feel Good" by The Overlanders, a song that, as a matter of fact, always does make me feel good. For whatever reason, the 'landers relegated it to the B side of their (1964) single, "Sing A Song of Sadness." It also appears on their 1966 album, MICHELLE.

The song was written by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch of The Shadows, who also recorded a nice rendition of it in '64. It lacks the bouncy combo organ stylings of the Overlanders version, however, so is docked some pep points, accordingly.
    
I first became aware of the song when a local oldies DJ discovered, and became fixated on the Overlanders' 45, playing it every evening drive time for weeks.




APPLE SCRUFFS- GEORGE HARRISON
(John B.)

Back in the day, before it was a country station and before its current incarnation as "Rush Radio" with raving wingnut rants 24/7, WQDR was the AOR station in my listening area. And Apple Scruffs was one of those songs that would come on from time to time that made me leap across the room to crank up the volume. Just George and his guitar (and his first-ever time playing harmonica on record, according to Bobby Whitlock's book), and I loved it. 

And the Apple Scruffs, as most BW readers probably already know, were the girls who sat outside Abbey Road waiting to catch a glimpse. Whitlock writes "They weren't really scruffy... All they really wanted was to touch us or have an autograph. Mostly it was just to see us or give us a flower. That would make them happy." 

Which just makes this track all the more charming, in my book.





THE MIGHTY QUINN (FRANKENSTEIN EDIT)--MANFRED MANN
(John W.)

Three versions of The Mighty Quinn in progress. I edited them together for a stripped down version.




GOT TO GET OUT- NICK GILDER
(Frank D.)

Out of the many thousands of mp3s in my collection, here’s one by the 
high pitched screamer Nick Gilder of Hot Child In The City fame. 
From the same LP as said hit from 1978, this is a steadfast
rocker album cut which maybe could have been a small hit but wasn’t. 
Never even played on the popular FM radio stations at the time, but should’ve been. 
A pity, always a favorite of mine, good song. 




YELLOW SUNGLASSES- THE KLOWNS
(JAG)

The weekend mix submission I'm attaching is from a Jeff Barry-Ringling Brothers TV endeavor, The Klowns, whose membership including Barry Bostwick.

"Yellow Sunglasses" is found on The Klowns' sole (no! really?) l.p., from 1970.
(The album also includes a track called "Love Is The Answer" that is decidedly not the Todd Rundgren song of the same title.)




ROYAL OAKIE- LOUIE & THE LOVERS
 (Jeff K.)

There's this great song that you know and 

which is in constant rotation here.

JIM CAIN- BILL CALLAHAN

(Big Jim Slade)

A beautiful introduction to an album that is truly another world. 
I just did a search on Sal's site and found that 
he doesn't like the singing. Yeah, I wasn't sure how I was going 
to take to it either, but after listening to the whole album, 
I was floored. I'll say this, I think his singing 
is as emotive as Paul Simon's. It took me quite a while to 
like PS because I thought he did his vocals at the kitchen table 
while reading the morning paper. Or maybe in the studio, 
but while balancing his checkbook. When I finally listened to Graceland 
with the lyrics in hand, then I got it.



 
 
2:10 TRAIN- RISING SONS
(Steve Simels)



Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder's pioneering blues--folk-rock band ruled 
the clubs in LA in '65 and '66, but they never made 
an album and broke up before what they were doing 
actually became fashionable. 
 
This unplugged-before-it's-time live in the studio cut 
is beyond spine-tingling; it's hard to fathom that it remained, 
unheard, in the Columbia Records vaults 
until the early '90s. 



ANYTHING- JUST DESSERTS
(William Repsher)



Just Desserts, an NYC band, put out the album "Does Anybody Notice This 
Sentimental War Going On or Is It Just Us?" on a tiny indie record label
 in 1987 that gets a lot of play on local college radio and Vin Scelsa's
 WNEW Sunday morning show, but never quite makes it.  Co-leader Larry 
Fessenden goes off and becomes noted indie horror movie director; other 
guy, Tom Laverack, puts out solo albums over the years when not being a 
social worker.  In 2011, they get back together as Just Desserts for a 
new album that sounds good (not as good as Sentimental War, which is a 
lost 80s classic), and this song strikes me as the best of the bunch. 



 
TRIP AROUND THE SUN- AL ANDERSON
(Jeff C.)

Big Al Anderson also seems to be in a good place. He’s a hero of mine, 
right up there with Chet and Jimi and Grant Green. Back in the 80s I 
drove up to Poughkeepsie to see NRBQ at the Chance, a beautiful old 
theatre. I couldn’t find the place, and after driving around the block a
 few times, I spotted a guy at a payphone, and I yelled to ask him where
 the club was. He looked up – and it was Big Al. He pointed out the 
joint, and I quickly parked and walked over to say thanks. We had a 
short conversation about being tired (he was) and skiing (he didn’t 
approve). I grilled him on a couple of guitar-player issues. Then he 
went in and they played the most incredible set – possibly the best out 
of 30 or so shows that I saw of the classic line-up. Frank Gadler 
dropped by and sang a rousing “Howard Johnson’s Got His HoJo Working” – 
it was that kind of night, magical. 

 

I was sorry to see him leave the band but it was 
time, I guess, and he’s graced us with some fine music since, but he 
rarely lets it fly the way he did with the Q. This is a gorgeous ballad 
from his “After Hours” album, more typical of his recent stuff, and of 
course it rang especially true for me when I dialed up a live YouTube 
version yesterday. Here’s the studio version. Enjoy.
 
 
 
DANDELION RIVER RUN- MIMI & RICHARD FARINA
(A Walk IN The Woods)
 
One of life's great little tunes, this is a dulcimer-driven instrumental 
from one of their few albums before Richard (who was also a writer) was 
killed on a motorcycle on the same day as the book release party for his
 novel "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me" in 1966. His wife was 
Mimi Fariña - sister of Joan Baez. This song is the sound of summer for 
me, and since we're in high summer, this is high in my playlist. 






ORDINARY FOOL- HACIENDA BROTHERS

(J. Loslo)




My submission is "Ordinary Fool,"by Hacienda Brothers. 
Hacienda Brothers were led by the late country 
singer Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez, front man of the Paladins. 
Besides being a great song in itself, 
it's a song that can fit on 
a country playlist or a soul playlist. 
I can hear it being done by Merle Haggard or Solomon Burke.




 
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FEELING GOOD- EMMYLOU HARRIS
(Mike Sac)


 Rodney Crowell has written a lot of songs and made a lot of records over the 
years. Some were big hits and some were not. The albums, though they had 
some duds on them, usually had one masterpiece.. Trust me, I have them 
all. Here's one from Luxury Liner that I don't think Rodney ever 
recorded and was always one of my faves (I especially like the James 
Burton guitar licks after the first chorus. Pure country guitar.) I seem to remember hearing this 
on the old WHN New York county radio station. 
 
 
PETER PAN- JIM BOGGIA
(DeepKarma)

I absolutely love this song.   The first time I heard it I thought it was 

an uplifting salute to the little kid in all of us.  Then I focused on 
the lyrics... 
I've been this dude.  No.  I am this dude.  The older I get, 
the better I can handle the crap that 
life flings at me on an everyday basis.  
But, I'll be damned if I'm ever gonna grow up.
 
 
CONNECTION- MONTROSE
(John Ryan)
 You did a story once on covers that were as good or 
better than the original....this is my favorite and just a great song in its own right.
Connection by Montrose....it also sounds nothing like the Stones version. 
 
 
NO MATTER WHAT- PETE HAM
(Steves)
 
I have long believed that Badfinger's "No Matter What" may be the best 
powerpop song ever recorded. So, I was totally knocked on my ass the 
first time I heard Pete Ham's solo acoustic demo of the song.  No 
less powerful than the band version--perhaps even more so in some 
ways--what struck me right away was how delicate a song it really is.  
Stripped of the in-your-face electric guitars and Beatlesque backup 
harmonies, it stands a breathtaking example of Ham's exquisite singing 
and songwriting abilities, and is yet another sad reminder of how much 
was lost in April of 1975. (Taken from Rykodisc's long out of print CD, 7
 Park Avenue.) 


    

 

BURNING LIVE (LIVE)- DENNIS LINDE

(Steve S.)

 


Burning hot July.... Dennis Linde wrote this in '72, 
Arthur Alexander first recorded it, and Elvis made it famous, 
so much so that it's heard now mostly as parody. 
But here's the real deal, performed in a live version by the composer.  
 

 

Great work everyone. Thank you all.  See you tomorrow with "Group Hug 1.1"