Eat the Music

Saxophone songs #3 Dream Theater - Another Day Jack Beckenstein...

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:57:43 -0600

Saxophone songs #3

Dream Theater - Another Day

Jack Beckenstein proves that there’s more to the soprano sax than Kenny G (thank goodness).

Noisetrade free download: Over The Rhine - Snow Angels

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:48:17 -0600

Heard one too many tedious regurgitations of “Little Drummer Boy”? Had enough smooth jazz versions of “Sleigh Ride”? Noisetrade has a free legal download of Over The Rhine’s Snow Angels. A collection of original, non-traditional Christmas songs plus one re-interpretation of a classic. Get it while it’s free.

Essential Christmas albums #1

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:59:08 -0600

A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack now available from Amazon for only $3.99. Besides being full of nostalgia for people of a certain age (such as myself), this album is an example of some really great jazz trio music. In addition to the full soundtrack of the TV special, there are two more non-Christmas Charlie Brown tracks: Great Pumpkin Waltz and Thanksgiving Theme.

How to Discuss Someone's Questionable Life Choices

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:58:00 -0600

How to Discuss Someone's Questionable Life Choices:

Trombone humor.

The Hit Crew - A Truly Tribal Christmas (Amazon free download)

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:13:00 -0600

The Hit Crew - A Truly Tribal Christmas (Amazon free download):

Steel drum Christmas music. Probably not the kind of thing you’ll want to listen to endlessly, but shuffled in with your other Christmas music it’ll work for background.

Covers #1: Seven Bridges Road

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:52:00 -0600

(NOTE: This is a repost because, due to my own stupidity, I had deleted the original post.)

So there you have the earliest version of “Seven Bridges Road.” It was written by Steve Young, and recorded by him for the first time for his 1969 album Rock Salt and Nails. As far as I know, Steve Young hasn’t had any major hits of his own performance, but he has written some famous songs—other than this one. For example, “Montgomery in the Rain,” which was recorded by Hank Williams Jr., and “Lonesome Orn’ry and Mean,” recorded by Waylon Jennings.

Some technical stuff about Seven Bridges Road. This original version is in the key of B major. It’s in 3/4, or at least some kind of triple time. The tempo is about 87 bpm, and it runs about 3 minutes and 40 seconds. The key the song is pitched in isn’t really that important, though, because the artist usually pitches a song to his or her vocal range. So what I mean is, the key isn’t usually a part of that artist’s interpretation, it’s more a matter of practicality. But as we get on down the road we’ll find one artist that made a major change to this song and turned it into what we usually hear today if we’re listening to classic rock radio. But we’ll get to that later.

“Seven Bridges Road” was released three more times during the following four years. In 1970 it was released by the Manfred Mann of folk music, the woman who can’t stand to let a good song go unruined, that’s right, ladies and gentlemen: Joan Baez. From her 1970 album One Day at a Time.

For the most part, the lyrics of these various versions weren’t changed in any significant way, except for this one. So, whereas Steve Young says, “There are stars in the southern sky, southward as you go. There is moonlight and moss in the trees down the seven bridges road,” Baez says, “There are stars in the southern sky, if southward as you go. There is moonlight and moss in the trees. On the seven bridges road I go.”

This is nit-picking, I guess, but since it’s my blog I get to nit-pick. Baez’ version loses some strength and coherence. Her first statement makes sense, but then she says, “There is moonlight and moss in the trees. Period. On the seven bridges road I go.” Okay, Joan? Where are we now? Is the moonlight and moss here? Or is it on the seven bridges road? Do we follow you on the seven bridges road to get away from the moonlight and moss? What’s going on here? Anyway, she ends every one of these stanzas with “On the seven bridges road I GO” which just annoys me. Another small change she made was to the verse, “like some lonesome child.” Ms. Baez sings it, “like a motherless child,” which I suppose resonated more with her folk audience who were already familiar with the song “Motherless Child,” famously performed by Richie Havens at Woodstock.

The male accompaniment vocals are by Jeffrey Shurtleff, who performed with her often back then (also taking the stage with her at Woodstock). He recorded a few albums of his own but never got really famous, and at present doesn’t even merit a page at Wikipedia.

Technical stuff: key of A, 3/4 time, temp about 99 bpm, a little faster than Steve Young’s original. “Countrified” by adding a steel guitar, most prominent there at the beginning and again at the end, which I must admit I kind of like.

So for a little more technical stuff before we go on to the next recording. You may have heard the old saying “three chords and an old guitar.” Well, this song is written in only three chords, although they aren’t the same three the old saying refers to. The basic chord progression is from a I chord to a flat major VII chord, to a IV chord, and back to I (which gives the whole song a kind of “falling” or at least “going down the stairs” feeling—a mood of sweet resignation). So in the original Young version, it starts in D major, then C major, then G major, then back to D. Unlike the vast majority of old country and folk songs, there is no V chord anywhere to be found in this song. The middle bridge (“Sometimes there’s a part of me”) part simply goes back and forth between D and G (that is, I and IV), if my ears don’t fail me. But, the different artists didn’t always do it exactly the same. It got a little more interesting in 1971.

That’s Rita Coolidge from her 1971 debut album Rita Coolidge. She slows it down even slower than the original at about 77 bpm, but still keeps it in 3/4 time. Her version is the longest I know of: a combination of the slower tempo, the orchestral instrumental breaks, and a long fade out during which she repeats the title line several times, finally finishing up with a tenor sax solo on the fade-out, which I also like. I think this version moved the song more out of the country/folk category and toward more of a pop sound.

Steve Young re-released the song in an almost identical version to the original in 1972 on his album Seven Bridges Road. Same key, same tempo, same time. The biggest difference I can hear is that the string accompaniment was lowered an octave and is a little more prominent throughout the song than on the original.

This one probably sounds more familiar to most folks. It’s from the 1973 album Valley Hi by Ian Matthews. Here we have the pattern that most of us are familiar with: an a capella beginning and, perhaps more significantly, the time has been changed to 4/4. Matthews sings it in the key of D with a zippier tempo of about 97 bpm. This is my own personal favorite version. I like the atmospheric spaciness of the guitar (played by Michael Nesmith, by the way) and the way Matthews’ voice often “falls off” at the end of a phrase.

And then no one recorded this song for a while…

Until the Eagles performed it live and recorded the performance for their 1980 album, Eagles Live. Although in their introduction to the song they claimed to have learned it from Steve Young, their rendition is a near carbon-copy of Ian Matthews’ version. Same key of D, same time of 4/4 (like Matthews and unlike Young). The a capella parts at the beginning an end are close to Matthews’ tempo of 97 bpm (Eagles tempos of about 94 and 96 respectively), but with a slightly faster internal section of around 115 bpm, perhaps more fitting for their rock-oriented audience.

Several others have performed it since then. I don’t know if any of them have actually committed their performance to a recorded album and I mostly don’t care to find out. You can look them up on YouTube. Alan Jackson, Keith Urban with Sugarland, Keith Urban with Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban with Julio Iglesias,* G-d knows who else. All of them who I’ve heard are essentially just copies of the Eagles version, which itself is a copy of the Matthews version.

There’s only one more version that I know was recorded and released as part of an album, and here it is.

From Dolly Parton’s 2001 bluegrass album Little Sparrow. Pitched in A♭ for Dolly’s vocal range, once again in 4/4 time. A quite slow tempo of 87 or so bpm for the beginning—reflecting Steve Young’s original—which rockets up to a flying 150 bpm for the rest of the song. Anyone who reads this blog for very long will soon know of my penchant for bluegrass and I have nothing to complain about regarding this version of the song.

So…that’s what I’ve learned about this song because a long time ago I heard Ian Matthews’ version on the radio and liked it more than the Eagles version, and went hunting for information about who sang it and what they did.

*For the humor-impaired (and I know you’re out there): that was a joke.

15 Hilariously Negative Early Reviews of Classic Albums (Flavorwire)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:26:44 -0600

15 Hilariously Negative Early Reviews of Classic Albums (Flavorwire)

More than 13 hours of baroque and classical Christmas music for only 99 cents (Amazon.com)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:36:00 -0600

More than 13 hours of baroque and classical Christmas music for only 99 cents (Amazon.com)

A misheard lyrics supercut.

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:11:46 -0600

A misheard lyrics supercut.

5 Music Vidoes That Justify the Existence of the Internet (Cracked.com)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:10:44 -0600

5 Music Vidoes That Justify the Existence of the Internet (Cracked.com)

Joyce Hatto - The Ultimate Recording Hoax

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:54:39 -0500

Joyce Hatto - The Ultimate Recording Hoax:

Whilst there were a number of genuine recordings made by Joyce Hatto in the 1960’s and 1970, there appears to be nothing to suggest she played on any of the more recent alleged recordings.

It has been interesting to see how different media have interpreted the story, how inaccuracies creep into one story and are then repeated in the next, and how certain sections of the press, particularly in the UK, seem to have little regard for basic fact-checking or research.

On this page I’ve aimed to outline the story based on my own knowledge and understanding of what happened and when, and my own involvement in the technical side of proving the fact and nature of the hoax. What then follows are the eight pages of this site, preserved more or less at the point they’d reached when William Barrington-Coupe finally began to admit his involvement in public.

Video capture from Adventure Time (TV show) with...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:08:33 -0500

Video capture from Adventure Time (TV show) with hearing-impaired captions turned on.

Apology

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:56:32 -0500

Just want to say I’m sorry to those who started following me soon after I started this blog. I was having some technical difficulties with my old computer but I should be okay now and will be adding new stuff as time goes on.

A further explanation for anyone who happens across this: this blog is just to share my love and enthusiasm for music. Posts will be music, about music, and sometimes things just somewhat related to music.

Thanks for stopping by.

Country Roads Oldies Music Lyrics | John Denver "Country Roads" video

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:54:06 -0500

Country Roads Oldies Music Lyrics | John Denver "Country Roads" video:

Background information on John Denver’s hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Every Major's Terrible

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:34:06 -0500

Every Major's Terrible

Illuminati playlist

Sat, 05 May 2012 10:09:29 -0500

Illuminati playlist:

This is the rock project developed by Barry Andrews after the first break-up of Shriekback in the late 80s. The music was never made available to the public until the advent of The Shriekback Digital Conspiracy in the early 2000s. The album was then briefly available via the efforts of James Burk, but faded when the old site dissolved and “i_obtain” was no longer available. Illuminati’s music has nearly become wholly extinct by the reckoning of Shriek/Andrews fandom, but this is an attempt to ensure it is always available and a viable less
part of the Shriekback/Andrews legacy. Enjoy!

Christopher Bowes, lead singer of pirate metal band Alestorm,...

Fri, 04 May 2012 20:27:53 -0500

Christopher Bowes, lead singer of pirate metal band Alestorm, switches gears and croons while playing along with an electronic organ. Link for the full album legal download at the video! Watch the video and you’ll see why it’s free! But it’s still funny!

Murder ballads #2: Tom Dooley. This version by (G.B.) Grayson...

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:05:17 -0500

Murder ballads #2: Tom Dooley. This version by (G.B.) Grayson and (Henry) Whittier is probably the earliest recording of this song. Later made famous by The Kingston Trio.

Listening to kingly music

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:43:27 -0500

Listening to kingly music

Lost albums: Buckingham Nicks. Released by Lindsay Buckingham...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:47:26 -0500

Lost albums: Buckingham Nicks. Released by Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in 1973. A commercial failure, yet it was instrumental in Buckingham and Nicks being recruited into Fleetwood Mac. Allowed to go out of print and never re-released on CD, yet a helpful fan has uploaded the full album to YouTube. A welcome addition to the collection for any Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac fan (and Lindsay Buckingham fans too, I suppose). The song “Crystal” from this album was later recorded by Fleetwood Mac for their 1975 eponymous album, and recorded yet again by Nicks herself for the soundtrack to the 1998 film Practical Magic.