Covers Three

I featured Dirk Darmstaedter a few times at this before during the last years. And yes I really enjoy listening to him. He was the head of Jeremy Days a German rock band that was popular at the end of the 80's and well known for their chart success with Brand New Toy. After the split of the band he started a solo career under the stage name Me And Cassity but never reached the charts any more. During the last years he released podcasts and albums with his favorite songs. It is almost the same Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet doing for several years and I like the way he covers the songs. To cover great songs is not an easy job because everyone compares to the originals. If you can forget them you can feel well with his versions. It is always a superb collection and he makes these songs some kind of his own - not only because he has one of the best voices in German music.
 

The Greatest Band In The Early 70's (Just For Me)

The first concert ever I was able to watch was The Faces in Munich back in 1973 when some older friends allowed me to come with them. I don't remember very much of the venue but from this time on I was infected into music. When I first saw Rod Stewart hanging on the microphone and watching Ron Wood playing his wonderful blues guitar I wasn't able to explain how I felt. Since then Rod and The Faces accompanied me during the last decades and I always come back to them. A few days ago I found this footage in the internet and it transported the music the way I felt more than 40 years ago. It is still fun listening to the band playing their songs with a full enthusiasm and lost in their music. Look at them faces and you might get a feeling how good they were - especially Ronnie Lane, probably the most underrated member of this great band.

Pool Hall

Since a few month I meet with some friends for playing pool at our local pub. I was sitting at the bar drinking my pint when I came in contact with an retired old man and we started talking about this and that, politics and sports and finally we talked about playing pool. Soon we started playing and I got a lot of lessons learned. I started playing when I was a kid of 15 years and played every couple of years later. Knowing that I was just a regular player that is able to play the rules the old man showed me the abilities of the game. He told me a lot about playing slow and waiting for the chance. Since then we meet with a couple of friends to play a weekly competition. And I have to say: the more I play the better I get. It is just another way to get rid of all the things that bothered me during the working week. Here are a few songs that were inspired by playing pool.

Enjoy.


 

Truth

Last week CC featured on his fantastic blog The Faces and Rod Stewart. This brought me back to the early times of Rod the mod once again. He first got his first expectations in rock music while he played with his buddy Ronnie Wood in the Jeff Beck Group. It is almost 50 years ago when this album was released and I still go back to this record and enjoy the songs. I am not the one that is into blues/blues-rock and guitar slinging but this record accompanies me during decades because of it grounded and earthy music. Jeff Beck played a terrific guitar on this record and Rod Stewart had so much soul to make this songs great. For me a timeless album and still worth to listen.

Jeff Beck - Shapes Of Things
Jeff Beck - Morning Dew
Jeff Beck - Blues De Luxe
Jeff Beck - Beck's Bolero

Stay Wth Me

Really can't believe that this song is 45 years old. Back in 1971 The Faces released this song for their album A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse. It's a song that was fits to them in the days of groupies. Rita with red lips, hair and fingernails was the way they thought in these times. You should be gone when I wake up is not the way we should think about women but it was Rock 'n' Roll. Love this song even if it is political correct or not.

Addition to George's ICA

In addition of George's very fine ICA-Compilation over at JC's place I checked out my records of The Faces. I am a long time friend of their music because they introduced me into music. Introduced means that the former boyfriend of my oldest mate  sister played The Faces to me when I was at my youngest days. Back in 1975 he took us to a concert by The Faces in Munich and it was the first time ever I was on a concert before. Me and my lad were astonished by the live appearance of the band. Notably Rod Stewart that impressed us with his unique voice. It was an evening we both stepped into another era. From this time on I followed Rod Stewart and The Faces. A lot of times since now I occasionally I slip back to their records. For me it was the entrance to rock music and made fundamentals to music that came to my ears during the last 40 years. Here are some songs by The Faces, George didn't put on his short list of 10 songs.

Hope you're enjoying them as much as me.

And this for Ronnie Lane on guitar. He was one of the most underrated guitar players during the last 40 years.