Sunday, November 10, 2019

Songs Of The Week, 2019: 11/2- 11/8



Sally Sue Brown- Arthur Alexander
Cold Rain- Irma Thomas w/ David Torkanowsky
Tried So Hard- Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers
Madness- Prince Buster
A Certain Softness- Paul McCartney
I Love The Night- Blue Oyster Cult
Mother Whale Eyeless- Brian Eno

zip

Sally Sue Brown- Arthur Alexander
For years it was impossible to find the original version of this on CD. The rerecord seemed to be everywhere. Here's the superior original, just one of about sixteen great tracks on Alexander's "A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues" collection on the Ace label.

Cold Rain- Irma Thomas w/ David Torkanowsky
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Miss Irma Thomas released two of her greatest records. The first, "After The Rain," was a beautiful, subdued yet heartfelt set of what Irma does best. The second, "Simply Grand," was a stripped down affair, pairing Irma with some great piano players that included Dr. John, Marcia Ball, Randy Newman, Jon Cleary and on this track, one of my favorite New Orleans musicians, David Torkanowsky. I had been thinking about how both of these records deserve a deluxe vinyl release. Here's a fave off the latter.

Tried So Hard- Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers
This album was the subject of a Bad Kitty Music post and what he wrote made me want to hear it.

Madness- Prince Buster
I only just found out that this popular Madness track was not a Madness original. How did I not know that? This is Prince Buster from 1963, I believe.

A Certain Softness- Paul McCartney
My bi-annual "Chaos & Creation In The Backyard" lovefest took place this week. This time, I took it on the road to Facebook. It was a success. Many agreed that this album was peak Paul.

I Love The Night- Blue Oyster Cult
So often misunderstood as either two hit wonders, or worse, a heavy metal band, here is the fabulous, spooky and gorgeous second to last track from their greatest, "Spectres."

Mother Whale Eyeless- Brian Eno
Listened to the entire "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" record, one of the four solo Eno masterpieces and this track made this week's cut.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I've got stuff from all of these folks, including those particular cuts by Arthur A. and Prince B. (But, judging from what you wrote, I probably don't have the best version of Sally Sue), so I'm thinking I'll like this set.
C in California

Bill said...

That Arthur Alexander Ace collection is, well, aces. I bought it back in the 80s and have loved it ever since. His comeback album, Lonely Just Like Me, produced by Ben Vaughn, was really good too. Sad that he died shortly after it came out, just as his star was on the rise again.

Troy said...

Love the Irma albums. Sure hope she puts out another album some day.

Speaking of New Orleans, my wife and I are finally going back after a (near) 10 year absence. Life has just gotten in the way the past decade, but we're definitely looking forward to it. Sal, any recommendations on things to do & places to see while we are there? I know we'll do Zydeco night at Rock & Bowl, but other than that we're wide open right now. Appreciate any suggestions!

Sal Nunziato said...

Troy,
My fave places to eat remain Elizabeth's In The Bywater for a late breakfast or early lunch and both Cochon and Sylvain for dinner.

Plus, if you happen to be there on a Tuesday night, the Stanton Moore Trio has a residency at Snug Harbor that I would not miss.

A walk in the woods said...

Looks like a great mix. You've surely reshaped my thoughts about groups like BOC. Other examples would be Queen in particular - I never knew their early songs were so poppy until you shared some in SOTW mixes and such.