Older song discoveries: February

Older song discoveries of the month, Uncategorized 2 Minutes

guitar

 

 

Rocket Man (cover) by Kate Bush (1991)
(Good cover with an unexpected reggae sound. She recently officially released the video on her YouTube channel. To coincide with the upcoming 4-disc rarities album The Other Sides)

 

 

 

 

Don’t Talk To Me by GG Allin & The Jabbers (1980)
(A random discovery via a letterboxd review. Apparently there are many wild stories about GG Allin and he is kind of the bad boy of punk music. This recording is from before he lost his mind. Bored To Death, from the same LP, is another memorable moment. A different era but the lyrics have aged well)

 

 

 

 

3,000,000 Synths by Chaz Jankel (1982)
(Sometimes spelled Chas or Chaz. Solo project of the guitarist and keyboardist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. I don’t know if synth-jazz exists but this could be it. Wish I could hear what is said at 2.06, it’s inaudible)

 

 

 

 

Television, the Drug of the Nation by Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
(A 1992 hiphop classic that is critical of TV and is still applicable to today’s society.  Language Of Violence, taken from the same album, continues to ring true as well)

 

 

 

 

Think (About It) by Lyn Collins (1972)
(So funky! Reminds me a bit of Musicology, only better than Prince’s tune)

 

 

 

 

Moonlight in Vermont by Willie Nelson (1978)
(Wonderfully tranquil country song. A great discovery thanks to Alyson’s blog)

 

 

 

 

They Shoot Horses Don`t They by Racing Cars (1976)
(A Welsh pop band. A hit single inspired by the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Despite three albums to their name, the group (according to wikipedia) acquired one-hit-wonder status) 

 

 

 

 

Lazy Sunday Afternoon by The Small Faces (1968)
(Very catchy. The band is remembered as one of the most important mod groups of the 1960s, and were a big influence on Britpop in the 1990s. They later evolved into Faces, a very successful psychedelic band with Rod Stewart as lead vocalist)

 

 

 

 

 

Harlem Shuffle by Bob & Earl (1963)
(An R&B dance classic. Was ranked #23 on The Daily Telegraph’s list of the “50 Best Duets Ever” and was used in the film Baby Driver. The Rolling Stones released a cover in 1986)

 

 

 

 

 

Hooverville by The Christians (1987)
(An underrated 80s group. The name of the band refers to the surname of the three brothers.  We need more uplifting tunes like this!)

 

 

 

Re-discoveries:

 

 

 

Experience by Ludovico Einaudi (Mommy Soundtrack) (2013)
(Drew at Man About Words praised this instrumental in the comments section of his blog and I was reminded how moving this piece of music is)

 

 

 

 

Higher Love by Steve Winwood (1986)
(Unforgettable 80s chorus)

 

 

 

 

The Last Farewell by Roger Whittaker (1971)
(First heard as a child.  I love the “for you are beautiful” chorus, yet I’m only just uncovering the nautical theme in the lyrics. Whittaker hosted a radio show and is quoted as saying “one of the ideas I had was to invite listeners to send their poems or lyrics to me and I would make songs out of them”. Ron A. Webster, a silversmith from Birmingham, sent in The Last Farewell. I hope he receives royalties as the single has sold 10 million copies!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably half of these discoveries were found at Rol’s music blog, What do you think? Any favorites? As always, comments are welcome

Published by Chris

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15 thoughts on “Older song discoveries: February”

  1. Oh…Experience…ALL THE FEELS! And yes, that moment…it all comes rushing back every time I hear that piece of music. That was brilliant song choice right there!

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  2. G.G. Allin…. oh man…. that is one sick motherfucker. Today’s society is just glad he’s not around anymore because they would die of shock if he was around.

    The discoveries this month I had is really to John Sykes. This amazing guitarist who played for bands such as Tygers of Pan Tang and later the final years of Thin Lizzy as he would join Whitesnake in the mid-1980s as the line-up of David Coverdale, Sykes, bassist Neil Murray, and drummer Cozy Powell is probably the most definitive line-up in terms of musicianship and skill. Sykes was really responsible for the band’s huge commercial success in the late 80s but during the recording of the 1987 album, Coverdale had a sinus infection and had to get surgery. Sykes along with Murray and drummer Aynsley Dunbar would do a lot of the music and Sykes was willing to take control until Coverdale returned and fired the entire band. Once he replaced them with Adrian Vanderberg (who played the solo in the ’87 version of “Here I Go Again”), Vivian Campbell, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge, they would be the ones to reap in all of the success but Sykes, despite co-writing most of the album, would feel cheated. He would later form Blue Murder with Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin as they were successful but didn’t last.

    Sykes I feel doesn’t get much credit for his work as a guitarist as he’s just got this tone and phrasing in his playing that is really incredible based on this performance of “Crying in the Rain”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIZI5MTIcXg

    Whitesnake did have music before the ’87 album that was great yet once Coverdale had to glam up and be more presentable to the masses. Yes, it made him successful as well as pay off a serious debt he had but he also would lose a bit of himself as an artist. It’s a shame he and Sykes will never work together again as the latter still harbors a grudge on Coverdale.

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    1. @ninvoid99: G.G. Allin certainly knew how to cause a stir, his antics are not for the squeamish!

      I haven’t covered John Sykes on the blog but thanks for shedding light on his career. For nostalgic reasons, I love Whitesnake’s 1987 power ballad “Is This Love”. I should look into their mid 80s run. Blue Murder is new to me. Think I stumbled upon Tygers of Pan Tang when I looked into the NWOBHM

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    1. @Rol: Ha, yes, I decided to only link to your site at the end of the post as would have been overkill to reference you multiple times. Saturday Snapshots certainly has proven to be fruitful. I’ll be wary of the horrors

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  5. Really surprised, but chuffed, you warmed to Moonlight in Vermont. Willie Nelson certainly gave this old standard a gentle country twist.

    As for Racing Cars, I had always assumed they were American, and now I find out they are Welsh! Really like that song too though.

    Yes, Lazy Sunday Afternoon a mid classic and it used to be the theme song for a BBC Radio 1 Sunday afternoon show hosted by the only woman DJ at the time, Anne Nightingale. How I got to know it.

    Didn’t expect to see Roger Whittaker pop up on the list though. Also a favourite of Gene Hunt’s missus, although you might not get that reference! (He appears occasionally over at my place.)

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    1. @Alyson: I’ve put the Willie Nelson album on my listen list. I think I might like the rest if it’s more of the same.

      Tricky to tell where Racing Cars are from based on the vocal

      Thanks for the bits of trivia on the other songs

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  6. Man, I could listen to Willie Nelson for hours (the right stuff). Lazy Sunday Afternoon led me to all sorts of great music when I heard it properly back in 1997.

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