I don't think I can do it, William Repsher.
But I was inspired for today's collection of tunes, by four songs specifically.
I am going to call Chuck Prophet's "They Don't Know About Me & You" the centerpiece of this Weekend Mix. Prophet has been on a winning streak for quite some time. This is an artist that has been on my radar for years, but only in the last ten or so have I discovered what a treasure he truly is. Not just an amazing guitar player, something you need to see and hear live as his recordings aren't necessarily built around his soloing, but a special songwriter who can deliver either love or heartbreak in the subtlelest of ways, sometimes both in the same song. Today's choice hit me like a bag of nickels and I highly recommend the album from which it came, "Night Surfer."
The thing that gets me about Jimmy McCracklin's 1962 rhythm and blues hit "Just Got To Know" is the vocal arrangement. A fine tune on its own, though nothing special about just one more blues belter, "Just Got To Know" has just the right amount of nuances to make it stand out. The arrangement of the background vocals, at least to my ears, sound like little else from that period. This one has been on heavy rotation this week.
When we lost Lesley Gore earlier this year, a Burning Wood reader had suggested unequivocally "What Am I Gonna Do With You" as her best, while many others, myself included, cited "Maybe I Know" as our fave. Six months later and this Gerry Goffen tune has really won me over. This is what I can only call a fantastic record!
The fourth and final song that has been spinning incessantly this week is a Ray Davies tune that I have loved for as long as I can remember. My second favorite track from my favorite Kinks record "Something Else By The Kinks," "Two Sisters" is nothing short of brilliant in Davies not-so-subtle way.
These four songs needed to be shared this week and they are surrounded by good company, including a terrific piece of ear candy from the new Tame Impala record, a Jeff Lynne track I love from a later, mediocre ELO record mostly because of the line "If the Lord don't get you, then I will," Deep Purple's "Led Zep III meets Bob Dylan" deep cut from "Fireball," my favorite Van Morrison track of the 90's and a classic Funk Brothers track to open things up.
Enjoy, hopefully. Feedback not required, but appreciated.
TRACKLIST
Reach Out (I'll Be There)- The Funk Brothers
Find Somebody- The Rascals
Intimate Secretary- The Raconteurs
They Don't Know About Me & You- Chuck Prophet
I Loved Everything- P. Hux
Mrs. Robinson (Version 2)- Simon & Garfunkel
Four Little Diamonds- ELO
Reality In Motion- Tame Impala
Bandits- Midlake
Anyone's Daughter- Deep Purple
What Am I Gonna Do With You- Lesley Gore
Two Sisters- the Kinks
No Religion- Van Morrison
Just Got To Know- Jimmy McCracklin
Love On The Wrong Side Of Town- Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
Walking To New Orleans- Neil Young
zip
8 comments:
With the "street date" quip I was commenting more on the seismic shift of the recording industry changing release date from Tuesday to Friday. Why? Maybe you'd have more insight to this than I do. I'm sure, even more than I feel it, that concept of Tuesday being new-release day is really burned into your psyche.
The big deal for me today is the last of the Led Zep reissues, which I've been buying as CD's on Amazon for my brother (who lived for the band in the 70's), and keeping the digital tracks as a Prime member for myself. Didn't mean to get the whole set, but between birthdays and Christmas, it sort of worked out that way.
Picked up the new, very long Ray Davies bio for the Kindle this week, but have a few other things to read before it. Strange how The Kinks seem almost invisible now in America, or at least not thrown in the mix when people talk about write about the most influential bands from the 60's.
OutSTANDing mix, mister.....Way to exit July. In the "I love it when that happens" department, I actually played DP's Anyone'sDaughter earlier this week myself. It just inserted itself in my brain for no apparent reason....looks like it got you too.
Have a great weekend and thanks for the effort...it shows!
NIGHT SURFER is a 2014 Top Ten album.
It's really really REALLY hard for rock artists to crank out great new albums after having done so for 20+ years, and one who does is Prophet. And he's great live, too.
Thought for a moment I was reading a Philip Marlowe novel with the Chandleresque "hit me like a bag of nickels" phrase. I'll be borrowing that one over the weekend, thank you very much! Good to see Van the Man in the mix and that Jimmy McCracklin song is a real kicker. All in all, another fine effort, Mr N, for which you have my thanks - although probably not shared by my passengers tonight as I sing along to Purple's "Anyone's Daughter" at full blast. Anyone got a bag of nickels handy?
Thanks, Sal. I often think of these lists as an opportunity to discover new music, but sometimes they make me focus on something I already have but hadn't, well, focused on. That's the case here with the Chuck Prophet & The Rascals.
Jimmy McCracklin is an immortal for me just for Georgia Slop, but this song is terrific, too.
Great mix! Thanks Sal.
Bon weekend!
With thousands and thousands and thousands of tunes gathered over 50+ years of collecting music, it's always fun to rediscover songs that have been forgotten, ignored, lost or abandoned. This weekend mix is, IMHO, one of your best. How wonderful to be reminded of just how good The Rascals were, what a treasure Lesley Gore was, how sadly ignored Parthenon Huxley is, etc. etc. Throw in some Kings, Sir Van and Mr. Crankypants Young and you've got a mix for the ages. It's gonna be a good weekend. Keep up the good work!
What a mix! I put it on shuffle without looking at the actual artists and titles...Midlake into Deep Purple...whodathunk those two would ever go so good together.
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