Harmonica Day

In 1970 Black Sabbath released their self titled debut album. It was a monument in heavy metal and screaming guitars combined with a bluesy harmonica.

David Bowie released this song in 1973 on his album Aladine Sane when glam rock was at its peak. A timeless classic even though people keep claiming that the song sounds too much like Blockbuster by The Sweet

Ten years later Elton John released another highlight of his later work, in which he dared to incorporate a harmonica that sounded as if it were being played by Stevie Wonder.

By the time you read this, I’ll have already been in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, for a few days. It’s a city I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, but Orban’s regime has kept me from going until now.

Whistling Thursday

 

After several weeks of whistling, I'm now running out of breath. One last time with artists who have incorporated whistling into their songs. 

Let's start with the most famous song by the great Otis Redding, which is actually a demo and was only recorded on a trial basis. He filled in the missing lines of lyrics with whistling. A final version was never produced because he died in a plane crash.

Paul Simon released this song on his second album and it has roots in his own childhood days in Queens. One of my all time favorites from him.

Professor Longhair is a legend in New Orleans. He played the piano in included many styles in his music that was based on boogie. This is one of his trademarks.

Almost exactly 50 years ago, David Bowie released Golden Years on Station to Station and, sadly, played it far too rarely. 

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Happy New Year, happiness and joy to all who follow this blog, which will continue to provide you with music and thoughts in its 14th year. To start with, I will continue a series that I launched in the middle of last year. Songs that have been in the charts in recent decades or that the writer simply likes will be presented as usual in a completely subjective selection and without comments for your enjoyment. Enjoy.

1966: Sonny and Cher

194: Otis Redding

1967: Cat Stevens

1968: Creedence Clearwater Revival

1976: Al Stewart

1974: Terry Jacks (the first song I had to translate when I was in school)

1987: Bruce Springsteen

1989: Fine Young Cannibals

1976: Paul Simon

1981: David Bowie

1964: The Marketts

1979: Blondie

1983: Huey Lewis & The News

1984: Talk Talk

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This will be the last post of this series for a couple of weeks because leave today for my annual trip to Sri Lanka. Probably I will find the time to post a few blogs but I can't promise. Until then, I wish you all good health, a merry Christmas with your loved ones, and a happy New Year. See you again in mid-January.

1965: The Mamas & The Papas

1967: John Fred & His Playboy Band

1966: Cream

1983: Bob Dylan

1989: The Smithereens

1971: Sly & The Family Stone

1963: Lesley Gore

1969: The Kinks

1972: David Bowie

1974: Stevie Wonder

1975: George Harrison

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

One more round with songs that have topped the charts and some obscure titles.

1972: David Bowie

1973: Kool and the Gang

1978: Chic

1978: The Police

1965: Spencer Davis Group

1977: Sex Pistols

1968: The Move

1884: Stone Temple Pilots

1969: The Band

1966: The Royal Guardsmen

1970: Stephen Stills

1979: The B-52s

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week's musical journey takes us mainly to the seventies and some great songs.

1967: Procol Harum

1973: Albert Hammond

1973: Jim Croce

1977: David Bowie

1977: The Clash

1977: The Commodores

1986: Billy Idol

1967: Smokey Robinson

1965: Fontella Bass

1972: Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway

1969: The Byrds

1977: Billy Joel

1972: The Temptations

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another eclectic journey through music history with chart breakers and simply great songs.

1964: The Kinks

1967: The Small Faces

1986: The Pretenders

1971: James Taylor

1983: Stray Cats

1970: Bobby Bloom

1981: Greg Kihn

1968: The Band

1969: Creedence Clearwater Revival

1980: David Bowie

1980: The Clash

1994: Everything But The Girl

1983: The Fixx

1987: Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week, we take another look back at the 70's, plus a few older and newer songs.

1965: Bob Dylan

1972: Uriah Heep

1972: Mott The Hoople

1972: Randy Newman

1977: Thin Lizzy

1991: Metallica

1971: Rod Stewart

1964: Martha and the Vandellas

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

1989: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

1980: David Bowie

1959: The Coasters

1971: Cher

1973: The Velvet Underground

1987: M|A|R|R|S

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week's look back mainly takes us back to the time before punk changed everything, but also includes a Bruce Springsteen track that is one of my favorites of his.

1972: The Hollies

1960: The Shadows

1971: Paul Revere and the Raiders

1973: Elton John

1973: Paul Simon

1978: Bruce Springsteen

1966: The Beach Boys

1975: David Bowie

1979: Talking Heads

1976: Todd Rundgren

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week shows some songs from the sixties, soul and mainly songs from the end of the seventies, where great songs were written.

1967: Dave Davis

1981: Soft Cell

1981: R.E.M.

1965: Sonny & Cher

1971: Aretha Franklin

1976: The Ramones

1965: Wilson Picket

1967: Bobbie Gentry

1970: Jimmy Cliff

1969: David Bowie

1963: The Crystals

1979: The Boomtown Rats

1979: The Flying Lizards

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Welcome to another journey to well-known, long-forgotten and classic songs from the last 40 years.

1967: Pink Floyd

1978: Jackson Browne

1963: The Kingsmen

1971: Bill Withers

1971: The Who

1976: Blondie

1978: The Clash

1971: Rolling Stones

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

1970: The Knack

1984: Nick Cave

1973: David Bowie

1989: The B-52's

1975: Elton John

1989: Indigo Girls

Monday's Long Song

 

In 1976 David Bowie released Station To Station an album that marked a transition for him. While he explored the soul and funk path on Young Americans and before he made Low with Brian Eno he released an album that wasn't an easy cost. Many people couldn't deal with this album at these days because it was unexpected that Bowie explored krautrock and the sound of Neu! and Kraftwerk. The title song is split in two parts. Starting slow with a hypnotic march and industrial noises it turns into a majestic groove that lasts for the rest of the song. The song has some kind of beautiful, intensely romantic melancholy that still grabs me after many years.

David Bowie - Station To Station

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

1966: The Bobby Fuller Four was a short time existing rock and roll band. Their legacy is that they first brought Sonny Curtis song to the charts.

1970: CSN&Y released Joni Mitchel's Woodstock a swan song to an era

1965: For me, Donovan always seemed to be poor man's Dylan, but this song is beautiful.

1985: Dream Academy, a small one hit wonder appeared with a with a melancholy tribute to their youth.

1966: The Byrds got success with a cover by Bob Dylan.

1974: Steve Wonder released on of his best records.

1983: David Bowie's album Let's Dance when me and a couple of friends made a short trip to France.

1986: Robert Palmer - just because of the video.

1889: Heart made probably the best song about a one night stand.

Saturday Three

 

Another week has passed and we are ready for the weekend. So let's start with a couple of songs who have immortalized Saturday in the title.

First a song from the debut album by The Cure. An album that only featured a floor lamp, a fridge and a hoover on the cover and didn't reveal any other information. For those who listened to the album, it was a musical revelation.

A song from David Bowie's early days and played far too rarely.

The Drifters were an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group best known for their song Under The Boardwalk. But this is also a nice one

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another week and another foray through the releases of new songs from the last 60 years. There wasn't much of note, but enough to fill this post.

1977 - David Bowie released Low, probably his best album from this decade and Sound and Vision was one of the highlights from this album.

1958 - Doo Wop is not the thing I listen often but I like this song by The Monotones without any reason.

1980 - The Clash released Train In Vain from their epochal album London Calling. Still fascinating.

1966 - From his album Blonde On Blonde Bob Dylan released One Of Us Must Know one of the best songs from this album.

1967 - A classic pop song by The Turtles was released.

1972 - Dr. Hook appeared on the scene with a one of the best songs about lost love.

1966 - The Walker Brothers released their masterpiece. Scott Walker's voice is still thrilling.

1980 - Talking Heads released Fear Of Music and showed on this song why they were one of the best bands from this time.

New Song On Sunday

 

Anja Plaschg aka Soap&Skin is currently one of the most interesting musicians from Austria. Two years ago, she played at a festival in Austria where she exclusively performed cover versions. This gave rise to the idea of recording a complete album with versions by other artists. Instead of just re-recording popular hits, she dug deep into music history to find the right songs for her.

Plaschg knows how to give her songs/interpretations a dark, minimalist and melancholic flavor that gives you goosebumps in the best moments. It takes a lot of self-confidence to cover a song from David Bowie's last album and recreate it with monotonous beats, horns and a combination of industrial and folk elements. However, the respect for the original is not lost at any point. The song was also excellently realized in their self-designed video. In short, one of the most beautiful cover versions of this year.

As a bonus one of the best versions of a classic Velvet Underground tune.

New Song On Sunday

 

I couldn't imagine that my employer would give me so much work to do in my last weeks before I retire and that I would have to finalize projects. I also had to deal with a lot of correspondence with the pension fund in order to fulfill the formal requirements for my pension. For this reason, and because I couldn't muster the time, I decided to take a break from updating this blog last week. Last Friday, as usual, I had a look through the new releases of the week to see if anything had been published that was worth mentioning. The only thing that stuck in my mind was the release of Come Undone, the latest release by Glasgow's Walt Disco. Their music is more than retro and is orientated towards the best times of David Bowie, Roxy Music,Talking Heads and glam-pop, who try to bring their music to the dance floor. Surely not groundbreaking but good and a journey back to these days.

Sixty Five

 

Today I turn 65 and another year has passed far too quickly and I reflect on everything that has happened in these years. We are getting older and that is inevitable. And transience is a theme that crops up in every genre of music, from rock n' roll to country and blues. And songs that have dealt with getting older, the past and everything in between. It's impossible to pick a favourite, especially when you consider how much choice is out there. That's why I limited myself to the songs that came to me spontaneously and that have stayed with me over the years.

These Immortal Souls

 

Sometimes it takes re-issues to remember a band that I listened ages ago. This happened when I got the news that the albums by Australian post-punk band These Immortal Souls was released a few days ago. Formed in 1987 in London from the ruins of Crime And The City Solution, an another underrated band by Rowland S. Howard they brought us back an almost impossible combination of blues and punk. I remember their first album was on heavy rotation in the gothic scene back then. And I have to admit that that I liked their music in these days but wasn't a huge fan of them. But listening to the albums decades later I can got aware that they were more than a post-punk epigone.  Howard is croaking the lyrics Cave-stylish but his guitar is sharper than many others and their influences are massive. On These Immortal Souls it sounds like the Doors had a session with Bowie. Not the music for every day but ace from time to time.

These Immortal Souls - Marry Me (Lie! Lie!)

These Immortal Souls - These Immortal Souls

These Immortal Souls - Blood And Sand`She Said

These Immortal Souls - The King Of Kalifornia

Three One After Another

 

Another three songs that appeared on my mobile phone in a row a few days ago on my way to work. The first one was by The Gun Club's second album Miami from 1982. A long time ago of course but I love this album from the first time I listened to it until now. It was a rough and grounded sound torn between post punk and pre-grunge. Seldom listened to a true sound like this later.

The Gun Club - Texas Serenade

In 1979 The Flying Lizards released their first self titled album, an experimental excursion in new sounds trying to find their own way between pop, experimental and dub. Their legacy will be superb cover versions by Eddie Cochran and Berry Gordy.

The Flying Lizards - Summertime Blues

Polly Scattergood is an English singer/songwriter and released more than one year ago her latest album In This Moment. It is an album I enjoy listening from time to time to her Eighties-tinged pop that could be recorded in David Bowie's Hunky Dory days

Polly Scattergood - The End Was Glorious