YOU’RE NO GOOD

The original version of this smash track for Linda Ronstadt in 1974/5 was done by Dee Dee Warwick but the one that had impact, albeit more on the R&B chart, was done by Betty Everett. Sure, it’s the same song, but credit the nearly-forgotten Andrew Gold for arranging Ronstadt’s version into a hit. Andrew’s touch is especially present in the instrumental coda.

IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE

The famous iteration was a posthumous hit for Buddy Holly in 1959, but did you know it was written by Paul Anka? I’m including his version from his 1974 album “Anka.” His version swings, is R&B in a way that Holly and Ronstadt’s takes are absolutely not.

FAITHLESS LOVE

I’m not sure where J.D. and Linda were in their love relationship at this point, the follow-up to “Heart Like A Wheel,” “Prisoner In Disguise,” also evidenced J.D.’s compositions, but this is my favorite of their “collaborations,” i.e. Linda’s cover of J.D.’s songs.

But… Most people have never heard J.D.’s version on his exquisite 1976 solo album, “Black Rose.”

Produced by Peter Asher, utilizing so many of the Ronstadt players, “Black Rose”‘s take of “Faithless Love” is so intimate and so heartbreaking, it’s like J.D.’s singing it to you in front of the fireplace of his Silver Lake apartment, evidencing all the disappointment of a failed relationship. Whew!

Proving once again you don’t have to over-emote to get your message across. J.D. Souther will never be a mentor on “The Voice,” but he could add more than any of the fame-whores telling their charges to sell it by shouting it. Ugh.

This is magical.

Meanwhile, Glen Campbell cut a cover in ’84 and does an admirable job. You just can’t kill a great song.

THE DARK END OF THE STREET

This Dan Penn/Chips Moman song was originally done by James Carr, it was a hit on the black chart, but only entered the bottom quadrant of the pop chart. Check this original, it’s haunting, barely dated, it will reach you.

Subsequent to this, there were covers by the Flying Burrito Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton and Ry Cooder before Ronstadt put it over the top. Meanwhile, it’s been continued to be covered since, a great song is a great song.

HEART LIKE A WHEEL

I bought the McGarrigles’ debut LP just to hear this. And it delivered. It’s personal and understated in a way the Ronstadt take is not. Sounds like it was cut in a cabin in the Great White North by a field recorder, not for a hit, but as an artifact. Different words are emphasized, you’ll be unnerved, almost creeped-out, this is what music is all about, capturing all this honesty on wax.

WHEN WILL I BE LOVED

You had to be old enough… So many boomers came to music with the Beatles, they missed this 1960 Everly Brothers classic, written by Phil.

One of my great treats was seeing the Everlys open for Simon & Garfunkel at Staples Center back in 2003. You can’t see ’em anymore.

This will remind you of a bygone era, it will make you want to go back, believing you missed something. A true classic.

WILLIN’

Lowell George’s most famous composition, my favorite iteration, the one I heard first, was done by Seatrain, on their 1970 Capitol debut, it was the opening cut, it was entitled “I’m Willing,” and this was long before anyone knew of Lowell, never mind Little Feat.

It’s not on Spotify, so I point you to YouTube to hear a song that’s the same, but with a different arrangement, one that hooked me after purchasing the album having heard a cover band do “Song Of Job” at the Roundhouse in Manchester, Vermont.

Seatrain Willin’

Of course, there are two versions of “Willin'” by Little Feat, cut on their almost unknown eponymous debut and then its follow-up, which ultimately got a bit of traction, “Sailin’ Shoes.” I prefer the second, purists like the first. But since we’re getting this deep, I’m also including the live take from “Waiting For Columbus,” when the general public, at least those paying attention, began to realize Little Feat was one of the greasiest, most soulful bands on the planet.

Probably the most famous trucker song ever written, and even if you’ve never been behind the wheel of a big rig, you know it or should. Come on…

I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonopah

These places actually exist. Get in your car, fire up the tunes and go on an adventure through the southwest, it’ll pay more dividends than surfing the web.

I CAN’T HELP IT (IF I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU)

Originally cut by Hank Williams, its writer, in 1951, there are almost too many covers of this composition to count. Proving if you nail it, everybody wants a piece of it. Truth…they’re never making enough of it, it penetrates.

KEEP ME FROM BLOWING AWAY

Written by Paul Craft, who’s most famous for writing Mark Chesnutt and Ray Stevens songs, the original version of this song was done by the Seldom Scene, a bluegrass band most have never heard of, in 1973. It too is not on Spotify, you can listen to it on YouTube here:

The Seldom Scene – Keep me from blowin’ away

YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR EYES

Some songs should never be covered, they should be played live, as a tribute, but to record them is…sacrilegious.

That’s how I feel about Linda Ronstadt’s cover of “You Can Close Your Eyes.” And unlike some other songs on “Heart Like A Wheel,” “You Can Close Your Eyes” was not obscure, it was on the follow-up to James Taylor’s huge smash “Sweet Baby James,” “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.”

“Mud Slide” was a bit of a disappointment. Sure, it had the monstrous cover of Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” but it just didn’t hang together like “Sweet Baby James,” it overreached. Then again, by today’s mediocre standards, it’s a complete triumph.

The three best tracks on “Mud Slide Slim” are “Machine Gun Kelly,” “Riding On A Railroad” and “You Can Close Your Eyes.” When I bought the CD, I programmed these three on endless repeat, I can never burn out on them.

I’d heard James play “Riding On A Railroad” previously, it’s the picking and plaintive vocal that put it over. Forget that James has sunk into croonerdom these days, “Riding On A Railroad” is so good you just sit there mesmerized, blown away.

“Machine Gun Kelly” follows “You Can Close Your Eyes” on the LP. Like “Riding On A Railroad,” it’s all about the picking…and the groove. Sure, it’s a novelty topic. But it penetrates.

And that brings us to “You Can Close Your Eyes”…

Well the sun is surely sinking down
But the moon is slowly rising

Ain’t that life, endless repetition. You struggle to make it your own, knowing that as the repetition continues your time in the hourglass is draining.

So this old world must still be spinnin” ’round
And I still love you

It’s all about other people. Your records won’t keep you warm at night, never mind your mobile phone. Fame and fortune pale in comparison to relationships, do your best to sustain them.

It won’t be long before another day
We gonna have a good time

Lose your optimism and you lose your life.

And no one’s gonna take that time away
You can stay as long as you like

That’s right, no one can deny your existence and experience. It’s all yours, and as genuine as anybody else’s. Eat up life. Don’t let others inhibit you, tell you you don’t belong.

We all belong.

So you can close your eyes, it’s all right.

We’ll still be here tomorrow. You can drop the needle on these songs. You can pursue your dreams. But while you’re at it, stop and smell the roses. Oh, that’s a cliche, but the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.

Wait…that’s another song!

Rhinofy-Heart Like A Wheel-The Originals

Trains – Spotify

Trains – YouTube

I’ve got this Porcupine Tree song stuck in my head.

That’s right, the spawn of Steven Wilson who seems more famous now for remixing classic albums. But…

I’d start you with “Radioactive Toy,” my absolute favorite, but for some reason it’s not on Spotify, none of the streaming services. Of course it’s on YouTube, we’ve still got a ways to go in music, making everything available legally, as for the movie industry…they’re so far behind the curve they’re clueless. The enemy is THEFT! Never forget that. To decide not to be on Spotify is like going on vacation with the house unlocked. First you must secure the boundaries, that’s what streaming has done for music. It’s made stealing less enticing, almost completely not worth it.

Always the summers are slipping away

They most certainly are. The seasons move so fast when you get older. I marveled the sun was setting at 3:40 yesterday, it was starting to get dark, and then I realized this was not a novelty, that I note it every year, and the only thing that’s changing is me.

When I hear the engine pass, I’m kissing you wide
Hissing subsides, I’m in luck

“Trains” is dark, but it’s optimistic, that’s the conundrum of progressive rock, not that Porcupine Tree is exactly that, but today if you know how to play, if you sing of bigger topics, if you don’t conform to the the three minute model and you’re male, you’re progressive.

Actually, “Trains” is six minutes long. And I’m going to deal with it first, because upon reflection “Radioactive Toy” is slower, more cerebral.

Trains set and match spied under the blind

The track begins with a pristine acoustic guitar, what a revelation in this digitized, electronic world. We all search for humanity, never forget that, acoustic instruments will live forever.

And to be truthful, the lyrics are meaningless to me, I can barely pick them out, it’s all about the SOUND! I know Mr. Wilson is singing something important to him…

And then he goes all falsetto.

And then the guitars start to slash, the music gets heavy, he’s not breaking new ground, but you’re hooked nonetheless. You know how it is, driving in your car and becoming one with the song.

And there’s melody. And changes. And listening you’re in your own private reverie. The solo happens. This is all about you and the music, there is no deejay, you’re nodding your head, you don’t need anybody else.

There’s even a bridge!

And “Trains,” and the album it emanates from, “In Absentia,” were  commercial failures upon their release back in 2002, but through the miracle of the internet, they live on. Used to be music died, no longer. If it’s good, it can always resurface. And I implore you to check “Trains” out. It just might be your thing.

As for “Radioactive Toy”…

It’s the Pink Floyd song you’ve never heard, far superior to that overhyped Pink Floyd album that came and went almost instantly.

It’s heavy, it’s plodding, it’s ethereal, but the sense of majesty is what will entrance you. You’re never gonna hear this on Top Forty, you’ll probably never hear “Radioactive Toy” on the radio whatsoever, but that does not mean it’s not great, that it does not deserve attention, that it won’t become one of your favorites.

It’s like the soundtrack to a Harlan Ellison novel, like “A Boy and His Dog”… Actually, Trent Reznor is great, but someone should give Steven Wilson a chance at scoring a film.

And the point is I was in an extremely good space. And I wanted something to amplify my mood. Something to ride shotgun and lift me higher into the stratosphere.

And that made me think of “Trains.”

And that made me think of you.

“Radioactive Toy”

I could watch this all day!

Talk to Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney too…it’s all about inspiration. And in a world where money comes first and fame second, it’s hard to find that thing that makes your hair stand on end and say…I WANT TO DO THAT!

Everybody successful has that moment. When lightning struck and they instantly knew what they wanted to do.

But that was just the beginning…

Zac Brown wrote “Chicken Fried” in 2005. He told Joe Galante to pull a cover from the radio. Because originals are rare, both artists and songs.

That’s what Nashville is all about, songs, according to Dave Grohl. Which begs the question why the tracks that fill the end of every episode are so mediocre. The public knows, the “Sonic Highways” album is a stiff. There just wasn’t enough inspiration to push Mr. Grohl into greatness. Furthermore, he’s a terrible lyricist. But no one will tell him this, because he’s so nice and so successful. That’s what’s wrong with America, you can’t criticize anybody with money, who’s made it.

Anyway, the key to this episode, the moment when I got caught up, is when Tony Joe White starts to testify.

Who?

POLK SALAD ANNIE!

A track that I know by heart that never really did it for me but now that I’ve heard Tony Joe White tell the backstory, I LOVE IT!

I never knew what “polk salad” was. Turns out it’s a weed. That you boil like spinach and eat with corn bread when you’re poor. Dolly Parton ate it. Tony Joe White was singing what he knew about. He heard “Ode To Billy Joe” and told himself that if he was ever gonna make it, he was gonna have to tell stories that were true, that people could relate to, that’s what made “Polk Salad Annie” a hit.

And there’s a lot of naysaying about Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line, and we can argue all day long whether they’re singing about what they know, but the one thing is those songs are hits, written by experts, who’ve paid their dues. The only problem is the people writing today’s pop hits were all born overseas and don’t focus on communal experiences but platitudes, and that’s what’s wrong with music right there. Tony Brown, who’s got enough naysayers himself to rival Florida Georgia Line, says if it’s all about formula, he’ll go the other way. And I won’t say I believe Mr. Brown, but this episode rehabilitates him, reveals his gospel roots, tells the story of working for Elvis after his piano player defected to Emmylou, and then he follows said piano player to Emmylou’s band.

That’s right, music is an adventure, you never know where it will take you. But in these days of instant fame, we’ve eviscerated that concept. We want it all, and we want it now. As if Queen wrote “Bohemian Rhapsody” on its first album, hell, the band was barely kept alive after its debut, I was the only person I ever knew who owned it.

But the point is today it’s about making it and selling out, nowhere so much as tech. But Mark Zuckerberg refused to relinquish his company, he’s making acquisitions, he’s looking for a second act. Same deal with Snapchat, they don’t want to sell out. WHY DOES EVERYBODY IN MUSIC WANT TO SELL OUT??

So Tony Joe White tells about hearing Lightnin’ Hopkins and being inspired to become a musician. Getting in his car and driving to Nashville to get rejected. That’s right, he had “Polk Salad Annie” and nobody wanted it, until he got to Monument. The point being no one knows anything, you’ve got to believe in yourself. But you’ve got to have the goods. And almost no one does…

It almost sounds like a Creedence record, before anybody knew who Fogerty was. Listen to that guitar TONE! And that guttural utterance…

Some of you all never been down south too much
I’m gonna tell you a little story, so you’ll understand what I’m talking about

This was back before BMW was in South Carolina, before Mercedes left New Jersey, when the south was seen as backward, the land of racism, and suddenly there’s some guy with a heavy accent telling us what’s really happening down there…

Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods and the fields
And it looks like something like a turnip green

I’ve heard “Polk Salad Annie” hundreds of times. But it was out of the speaker in the dash of the family Oldsmobile, I could not make out the lyrics. But one thing’s for sure, the track was laden with hooks. Because to have a hit, you’ve got to HAVE IT ALL!

And Tony goes on about the chain gang, that I heard back when. But now, hearing Tony Joe White tell the story of “Polk Salad Annie” I’ve got a new appreciation for the track. That’s right, we’ve got more music news than ever before, but it’s all hype…so and so released this, so and so is dating that person, so and so is artificially dissing so and so or saying how great they are, it’s like no one has a brain, certainly not the writers, there’s no narrative.

And the narrative is first and foremost music is SOUND! It’s something you hear. And underneath that is the song, the story. There’s a construction, with groove and chorus and hooks and it’s not as formulaic as everybody says it is, but if you leave all the formula out, you’re never gonna make it. And when done right, there are lyrics we can all relate to.

We’ve got to get ourselves back in the garden.

Blame the labels. No one there ever played with his own money. They’re all so inured to the past, they don’t get the present. All competing not realizing no one’s paying attention. We need ten tracks a week we all need to listen to. The industry should provide this, it doesn’t.

As for the acts…uneducated, lowest common denominator denizens who don’t realize music is a calling, not a profession. It’s a road you get on that takes you away from everybody else and if you’re lucky, you’ll find an audience and be able to pay your bills. If not, no bitching. But bitching is everything in the music business today, no wonder nobody pays attention, the world hates a whiner.

And when you’ve got culture, when you’ve got talented lifers selling their wares, hype becomes irrelevant, it all fades away, records are king.

You remember records, DON’T YOU?

Doesn’t matter if you hear them on files, lossless or compressed, CD or vinyl, a killer track penetrates in all media. It’s something you’ve got to hear again and again, that you can’t stop telling people about. It’s the elixir that keeps you alive.

Like “Polk Salad Annie”…

Give it a spin.

P.S. I could watch “Sonic Highways” every damn day. It’s “Behind The Music” without the phony arc. Strip the axe from Dave Grohl and force him to tell these stories, they’re more important than his music. Really, if you were ever a fan, you’ll hang on the edge of your seat as people whose names you know come alive right in front of you. I thought I was over music, but when I watch “Sonic Highways” I realize it’s the most important thing to me.

“Polk Salad Annie”: Youtube or Spotify

Something About You – YouTube

Something About You – SoundCloud

On a day when AC/DC is announced as the headliner at Coachella…

I’ve been on the Highway to Hell my entire life but AC/DC put out a new album and the press bought the story but no one bought the album, no one cares.

That’s the story of today. You can tell us about it, but that does not mean we’re going to partake, that we’re going to care. There are so many stories, we’ve become immune, the only people we trust are our friends.

Like Neil Jacobson. We met in the desert. He linked me to “Uptown Funk” before it was released and I got it but found it too derivative. But this…

There’s just something here, from the Youngs’ fellow-Australian, Hayden James.

Oh, it’s repetitive at the beginning, if Neil hadn’t told me about it I probably would have clicked it off, but then everything dropped out thirty seconds in and it got so moody, and I’m a sucker for mood.

And then I found myself thinking I liked it but it wouldn’t be a hit, and then everything came back in and I found myself dancing in my chair, and then around the house, and I rarely move. And now I’m snapping my fingers. It’s making me feel so good on this insanely warm winter afternoon.

Music is incomprehensible. They shove down our throat that which is not innovative and seems to speak to people who are not us and we’re looking for something more personal that touches us and we don’t know where to look other than to our friends.

Thanks Neil!