A look At British Folk Music

I took my daughter to go see the movie Alice in Wonderland.  It marks another collaboration between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.  We saw it on the real big screen.  It was on the IMAX screen and in 3-D.  This got me to thinking about different  English groups.  The one that came to mind was Fairport Convention and Richard Thompson.  I have to admit that even though they have been around for quite some time they are relatively new to me.  I will start out with a song that upon the first hearing really grabs my attention is "Who knows where the time goes."  The next song is a great jam that I really like called "Matty Groves."  Richard Thompson had went solo and produced some great stuff.  The first song here is "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."  I went looking for other examples of English folk music, and I found the most  random strangest song ever put down.  It is called "They're Moving Father's Grave To Build A Sewer."

Music for today:

Ghosts of Electricity
October 31, 2009
Ashkenaz
Berkeley, CA
listen here
I have the audience recordings for this show.  This recording is obviously much better.

Because It Makes You Feel So Good

Yeppers, I've done it now.  I went shopping and got some great tunes.  I checked my music catalogue, and I found It was deficient with some necessary items.  I bought the new Jimi Hendrix CD plus the new Flogging Molly combo CD/DVD pack. I also bought The Essential Donovan which is a real gas.  When I was a young kid around 8,  I found a copy of Donovan's Greatest Hits that my parents had as part of the Columbia Record Club.  I really got into it.  This brought back great memories like the song "Catch The Wind."  I also dig the tune "Season of the Witch."  Here is an extended jam of this song. I was listening to the tune "Atlantis" and I found it to be so groovy. The last tune is a cool little ditty that got played in the tune "Alligator" from The Grateful Dead off their album Anthem of the Sun, and it was turned into a full bore monster jam called "Mountain Jam" by The Allman Brothers Band.  The song is "There is a Mountain."

I was thinking of a quote that I heard Jerry say about the band when he say a picture of the Rolling Stones.  He said that they were just as ugly, so they must be as talented.  This got me to thinking about great ugly musicians.  The one that comes to mind is Robin Trower.  He is lacking in looks but not in ability.  His pedigree is flawless.  As a member of Procol Harum, they recorded the piece based on Bach called "A Whiter Shade of Pale."  As most musicians having their heads exploded by the likes of Hendrix,  Trower split from the band to do his own thing.  Being so influenced by Jimi,  he put out several albums that had him sound like Hendrix.  The one album I find fascinating is "Bridge of Sighs."  Here is the title track done live.  This next track is just too cool.  The jam will make feel so good.  It is called "Too Rolling Stoned."  We will finish this up with the great meeting of the musical minds of Jack Bruce and Robin Trower doing "Seven Moons."

Music for today:

Jimi Hendrix
Are You Experienced? CD

Jimi Hendrix
Electric Ladyland CD

Jimi Hendrix
Valleys of Neptune CD

Donovan
The Essential Donovan CD

Smooth Jazz

Things are just going ok now.  There is nothing new to report from here.  The weather is the same (foggy and rainy), and the diet is going better.  I went out for breakfast, and I changed up my routine.  I have to give up caffine for the upcoming surgery.  I am having herbal tea as a replacement.  With all the snow melting rather quickly around here, I found a last minute winter song.  It is "Popsicle Toes" by Micheal Franks.  The next song is by Weather Report doing the classic song "Birdland."  After seeing her on Saturday Night Live in it's heyday, this next performer brings such style to this genre.  It is Rickie Lee Jones doing "Coolsville."  The group Manhattan Transfer made it famous as a jazz vocal group with the song "Boy From New York City."  To finish it up, there is David Sanborn performing with some graet friends that you will recognize; they are doing "Spooky."

Music for today:

Grateful Dead
November 20, 1973
Denver Coliseum
Denver, CO
listen here

Grateful Dead
November 21, 1973
Denver Coliseum
Denver, CO
listen here

Cream
October 15, 1967
Grande Ballroom
Detroit, MI

On A Foggy Night

The clouds are hanging low, and it is like being a gorilla in the mist.  This weather will be hanging around for days.  Yeah, the weather is a big topic of conversation here in Upper Midwest.  This is because noting of importance happens.  Every day is the same except for the weather.  This pattern breaks the mold.  It also reminds me of the song by Tom Waits from the album "Nighthawks at the Diner" which is "On a Foggy Night."  I would like to find the song to share with you, but there are none to be had on youtube.  So, these will have to do: "Eggs and Sausage"; and "Emotional Weather Report."  There is more from this show: "Ghosts of Saturday Night/Heart of Saturday"; "Better Off Without A Wife" (This song is kind of an unoffical anthem for me at this time.)  Here is the link for the entire show.  In case if you didn't know the connection of Tom Waits to the Grateful Dead, he was on the CD by Ken Nordine called "Devout Catalyst."  The piece is called "A Thousand Bing Bangs."  The background music is done by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.

Music for today:

Grateful Dead
November 17, 1973
Pauley Pavilion
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA
listen here

A Little Piece of History

I was reading some guy's writings on some Sixties rock bands.  One that got mentioned is the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.  He stated that the band Cream was really taken by them when they came to visit the U.S.A.  One of the finest jams that I can recall of theirs is what is called "East-West."  The version on Youtube has been cut into two parts : Part One; and Part Two.  This clip from the Newport Folk Festival features great music and interviews from: Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Mike Bloomfield, and Son House.  The group did "Born in Chicago" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival before the rest of the band made history. What major piece of history could it be that was cast on this night?  Bob Dylan had gone electric, and they were the backup band.  They shocked the audience with "Like a Rollin' Stone" and "Maggie's Farm."  It is sad to think that both Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield's lives came to such tragic ends. Butterfield's life ended in a mix of drugs and alcohol, while Bloomfield had died of a drug overdose.  It seems that the blues had claimed more lives.

Music for today;

Grateful Dead
November 11, 1973
Winterland Arena
San Francisco, CA
(Released as part of a box set)

Grateful Dead
November 14, 1973
San Diego Sports Arena
San Diego, CA
listen here

How Deep The Connections

I was checking out a tune by the group Blue Oyster Cult called "Black Blade."  The lyrics are by Michael Moorcock.  When I did a google seach of him, I landed on his Wiki page. He is a fantasy writer  that has a common theme throughout his works.  This is of the Eternal Champion.  When I looked this up, it gave me a link to "A Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Cambell.  This work was a major influence of George Lucas when he did "Star Wars."  Here is a better explanation of this connection.  Also, George Lucas was heavily influenced by the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's fim "The Hidden Fortress" which will be shown on Turner Classic Movies Tuesday at 11:30 Central Standard Time.  He wanted to purchase the rights of this movie, but it the basis for Episode IV ( the first film which came out in 1977). 

Back in 1986, there was a great meeting of the minds when Joseph Campbell and members of the Grateful Dead put on a joint seminar.  I go one step furthur by saying that the group moe. has been heavily influenced by the band Blue Oyster Cult.  It is also a matter of record that Bob Weir has played with moe.  The real message should be to never look at the obvious. I try to look for the connections that things have to each other.  They may seem real far out at the time, but it is nice when it can come full circle.

P.S.  This is an update from yesterday's post.  I messed up on picking Sandra Bullock for Best Actress. Other than that, I got the rest right.

Music for today:

Grateful Dead
November 10, 1973
Winterland Arena
San Francisco, CA
(It was released as a box set)

J. J. Cale
June 5, 1993
Somerville Theatre
Somerville, MA

Winners and Losers

Tonight, The Oscars were on ABC.  As I write this, the only awards that have tripped me up were the technical ones.  Other than that, I did well in handicapping the major awards.  This year was easy to do.  The winners were clearly ahead of the curve.  The first award that tripped me up was the Makeup category.  Star Trek won that one.  I didn't think that had a chance in hell.  I just got the Foriegn Film wrong.  I will make note of the rest of the picks (winners and losers) in tomorrow's post.


Music for today:

Grateful Dead
November 9, 1973
Winterland Arena
San Francisco, CA
(released as a box set)

Jerry Garcia Band
October 31, 1992
Oakland Coliseum Arena
Oakland, CA